


Kibou to Zetsubou

by DeanGirl2Y5



Series: Supernatural/Video Game Crossovers [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Supernatural
Genre: Blood, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Dangan Ronpa Spoilers, Dean Hates Witches, Execution, F/F, F/M, Hope vs. Despair, Hypnotism, Magic, Minor Character(s), Murder, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), POV Alternating, POV Dean Winchester, POV Original Female Character, Spears, Spoilers, Suicide, Temporary Character Death, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 10:01:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13972668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeanGirl2Y5/pseuds/DeanGirl2Y5
Summary: Of all the things for it to be, it just had to be a witch. And this one had to send them into a game. But it wasn't just any old game...Supernatural/Danganronpa crossover. Spoiler warnings for Trigger Happy Havoc/the Animation. Some chapter titles will be named after an episode of the anime.





	1. Pull the Trigger

**Author's Note:**

> ## Welcome to "Kibou to Zetsubou"!
> 
> it translates to hope and despair.
> 
> As you can see, it is a crossover fic between _Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc_ and Supernatural. Of course, it's kinda like "Sun Rise," where Supernatural characters play as the game/anime characters, except it's only Dean, Aline, and Sam. But because of the fact that I can't pull the same stunt twice (where the events of the first three Danganronpa games, and the Danganronpa 3 anime, happened in real life), I decided to settle with the concept you're about to read.
> 
>  ** _WARNING: This is my first time writing a character falling under a witch's spell (which is something that happens in this first chapter)._** I've written my take on the siren episode of SPN and the brainwashing video from Danganronpa 3, but never this. I was half-tempted to rewrite this whole chapter because I didn't feel very proud of it. As you can see, I decided against it. I wasn't sure how else I could write a witch sending the Winchesters and Aline into _Trigger Happy Havoc_. If you guys have a better idea, feel free to let me know, and I'll rewrite this chapter.
> 
> Anyway, here's how this fic is gonna be set up:
> 
> I'm going to be using dialogue from _Danganronpa: The Animation_ until a certain point, then I'm gonna switch to _Trigger Happy Havoc_. I'll be sure to let you know when I get to that point.
>
>> **(why? because the anime leaves a bunch of things out, and one of the things I wanna include is a certain part that got _severly_ neutered. I mean, I love the anime. it lets you see the characters move and actually react, instead of just being sprites with personalities. plus, i love the opening.)**   
> 
> 
> _"The dialogue from the anime/game will look like this."_ just like in "Sun Rise."
> 
> But we don't have to worry about that until chapter two.
> 
> This chapter, however, has alternating points of view. I've actually handled them differently this time around.
> 
> For this fic, [ A new POV will be in brackets, like this. ]
> 
> But, just for this fic, I've created a new character, and [ _her POV looks like this, just to differentiate her from the others._ ]
> 
>  _'text messages look like this.'_ (that's another thing for just this chapter.)
> 
> Since there's no anime/game dialogue this chapter, _"This is the text for spells."_ They will be translated in the note at the bottom, like in the "i am the mastermind" series. (I used Google Translate, okay?)
> 
> ( _thoughts due to the spell will be in parenthesis like this. all lowercase._ )
> 
> [ _Text written like this is a flashback._ ]
> 
> Also, each chapter (after this one) will be named after an episode of the anime. (I half-thought about naming every other chapter after the ones from the first game, but I decided against it. It would've been weird.) I'll even use the title cards for (almost) every episode (there are thirteen episodes total and six chapters in the game).
> 
>  **DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Supernatural or Danganronpa. Supernatural  & its characters are owned by Erik Kripke and the CW. The Danganronpa franchise is owned by Spike Chunsoft. I only own Aline Peverell, Dove Lyon, Matt Lincoln, the Super High School Level Cosplayers (the Danganronpa cosplay group in this story. I don't know how cosplay works, I'm sorry *puffy face*), and the story. (The reference for Dove Lyon is a blond Keira Knightley. Aline, as per usual, is Kate McGrath. Matt Lincoln, however, is undecided.) Title card was made (and edited) by me in GIMP.
> 
> That's it for now. On with the first chapter!

Of all the things for it to be, it just _had_ to be a witch.

Aline gritted her teeth, really wanting to throw her laptop but she didn't (because it has her games on it, for crying out loud).

The case she and the boys were investigating was in some small town miles away from the Bunker. Both men and women, between the ages of 20 and 40, were disappearing and, eventually, reappearing nearby the places they were last seen, dead. There had only been four so far, according to the local newspaper.

And Sam had been _completely_ _adamant_ that this was their kinda thing, but Aline had wanted _at least_ a day or two off. Maybe talk Sam and Dean into going to the local convention. After all, she had just joined one of those con LARP groups.

It was one right out of Lebanon, and it turned out they LARP'ed a certain game series Aline was a huge fan of.

That series was _Danganronpa._

The group even called themselves the Super High School Level Cosplayers, even though none of them were high schoolers _._

Fortunately, she'd bought costumes of two of her favorite characters from said series (specifically Chiaki Nanami and Junko Enoshima) to wear for Halloween (hey, it doesn't hurt to be overprepared, right?). Charlie had been the one to text her about it, saying they'd been looking for someone to play as Junko Enoshima since their last Junko had moved out of the state to live with her boyfriend. The brunette practically jumped at the chance.

Of course, she didn't get into costume until she got there. She didn't know how the boys were going to react to seeing her as Junko Enoshima. Sam, of course, had a bit of an idea of what _Danganronpa_ was about, but he didn't know much about the characters. Dean, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on in the series. He'd caught her playing _Super Danganronpa 2_ a few times and watching _Danganronpa 3_ more than that, but he didn't get it. (At least he hadn't caught her watching Despair 2 or Despair 7. Or, even worse, _that_ moment from Despair 10. The thought of it always makes her tightly clutch that Galaga hairclip and tears fill her eyes.) The only part of the cosplay she wore was the mid-sized black boots with platform heels and red laces.

She'd even brought her own Monokuma plushie (just to make it more realistic) and ran through Junko's emotions on the way there.

(course, it didn't look right until she was in the costume.)

The day she'd found out they'd picked her was when she and the boys were on the way to the case. She'd stayed calm while talking to Matt Lincoln (aka the Makoto Naegi cosplayer of their group and the leader), but, the moment the call was finished, she'd practically squealed.

Dean had been confused (and rightfully so), but Sam had only said, “Let me guess: they picked you?”

And she'd nodded before she started humming the _Danganronpa 3 Side Despair_ opening and put the Galaga hairclip in her hair.

Now, the convention was a week away, and the three hunters had figured out just _who_ the witch was, which meant they were one step closer to leaving the area and going to the convention.

The witch was Dove Lyon, owner of _The Ultimate Dojo,_ aka the local game/herbal store and she lived in the upstairs apartment. She was a brown eyed twenty-something honey blond with a clear addiction to makeup (in Aline's mind at least. There was such a thing as too much, and Ms. Lyon clearly went past the mark).

They didn't have much proof of her being the witch, at first. Just Aline's “hunch.” (“Come on, guys! Someone who wears _that much_ makeup has to be hiding warts or something!”) And the fact that each of the victims had been in some kind of relationship with the woman.

The lack of substantial evidence called for some investigating, which translated to Dean distracting Ms. Lyon while Sam and Aline investigated her apartment.

Of course, that eventually switched to only Sam investigating the apartment because Aline wanted to keep an eye on Dean, that's what she'd claimed. It was only after a double bitchface from both Winchesters that she caved.

[ _“All right! I wanna see what games she has. She's a witch that owns a video game store, how often does that happen?” Aline says._

_“Does this mean you like her?” Dean asks, not looking away from the road._

_“Hell to the no! She doesn't get a pass on killing people just because she sells games. If she's selling crappy games like ET for the Atari, then she's the worst.”_

_“But what if she has good games?” Sam this time._

_“Then she doesn't suck as much.”_ ]

Minutes later, Dean was flirting with Dove, Sam was upstairs in her apartment checking for witchy things, and Aline was just browsing the shelves and display cases. She noticed a bunch of Pokémon games, some Mario, a lot of Zelda (including the CDI games, which made Aline shudder), and Call of Duty. There were even some titles she didn't recognize.

However, she stopped in her tracks the moment she passed a row not too far away from Dean and Dove and almost screamed. Apparently, she didn't hide her happiness very well because she heard footsteps coming toward her.

“What one were you looking at?” Dove inquired curiously, causing Aline to whirl around.

She picked up the game and handed it to Dove. The game store owner smelled like... _something._ Aline couldn't figure it out, but she liked it for some strange reason.

Dove looked at the game and smiled. _“Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc,_ huh? You must _really_ like that game then, don't ya, hun?”

Aline nodded. It was true. She really loved _Trigger Happy Havoc,_ and the _Danganronpa_ series in general.

The blond took a step closer, going into the brunette's personal space and pulling her out of Dean's line of sight (she'd almost forgotten about him, about what they were here for. especially with Dove being as close to her as she was, making her mind feel all fuzzy). “You _really want it,_ then?”

Aline felt a sentence form on the tip of her tongue (for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what exactly that sentence was), but she swallowed it down and thought about it for a minute while looking down at her ballet flats. _Did_ she really want the game? It would really be fun to play as Makoto again, run through Hope's Peak Academy, solve its mysteries again, and confront the mastermind at the end.

Dove moved her mouth to Aline's ear, soft honey blond locks ( _prettyprettypretty, why is that pretty? she doesn't even like girls that way_ ) brushing her cheek. “Don't you want it, Aline?”

(for some reason, Aline _liked_ hearing Dove say her name. It was nicer than the way...the way...she just loved it soo much.)

Face flushing, Aline lifted her hand to push her loose hair behind her ear, and her finger brushed the Galaga hairpin...

[ _at the same time, Dove kissed her cheek._ you want it, _she pushed through the kiss._ ]

(apple pie. that was what Dove smelled like. apple pie and leather and gunpowder.)

...Aline looked up at Dove, smiling as she said happily, “Yes, Dove, I want the game.”

[ _her eyes were pink and they were_ _ **swirling**_ _. but she didn't know it, and nobody would see it except for the smirking dove. the combination of the perfume and the love potion_ always _worked, always made everyone fall on their knees in front of her. why would this girl be any different? sure, she'd resisted at first, looking like she was gonna say that she already had the game, but her breaking point was the combination of touching that hairclip and dove kissing her cheek._

 _the color of the swirls had been different for each person, like red for that guy who'd picked_ DOOM _or orange for the one who'd grabbed_ Crash 2. _this girl, Aline, however, was definitely interesting, her eyes turning pink. one girl's eyes had turned pink when she picked out_ Majora's Mask, _but not this particular shade._

 _the moment dove looked at aline's nails (half black-half white on eight nails, and a black and white bear on the thumbs), she got an idea._ ]

“But...” Dove lowered her voice to a sultry whisper, “...wouldn't you rather play as...” she flipped the box over and pointed at two of the characters (Junko then Makoto), “... _her_ instead of _him?”_

Aline thought about it. Playing as Makoto was just something she'd done, as that was the only option. But she _had_ thought about what it would be like to play as one of the other fifteen students, Junko being close to the top. However, the moment Dove suggested it, Junko _skyrocketed_ to the top. She had the costume in her duffle bag, after all.

[ _dove almost wanted to smirk. seeing the brunette thinking through her suggestion. of course she'd played the game. she'd played through every single one of the games in her store at least twice. she had almost thought the agent still at the register would've been her next victim, but this woman...she was_ definitely _a surprise. and to think she'd picked up_ Trigger Happy Havoc. ]

“Yeah.” Aline's voice was soft and quiet. “But...how could I do that?”

Dove pulled Aline's phone out of her suit pocket (she didn't even question _how_ the pretty blond knew where it was) and quickly typed something on it before gently placing it back and patting it, something buzzing in Dove's own pocket. “Let's go pay for it first, sweetheart.” The blond walked back toward the register, and Aline followed five minutes later, after calming herself down.

Dean had been leaning on the counter earlier. Now, however, he was standing up straight, watching both Aline and Dove as Aline paid for the game. Afterwards, they left the store.

“Have fun with it, love!” Dove called, making Aline blush.

( _dove is so prettybeautifulgorgeoushotpretty. How did I not realize it earlier?_ )

Dean pulled the Impala out of the space and drove away before turning around and going to the back of the store, where Sam was climbing down from the fire escape. As per usual, Aline moved to the backseat, still holding the bag with her game.

“Find anything witchy?” Dean inquired the moment he started driving back to the motel.

“Besides a lot of makeup, which definitely proves your point about too much makeup, Aline—” Sam began, but Aline cut him off.

“Dove _doesn't_ wear too much makeup, Sam! She's perfect!” Aline argued, puffing out her cheeks like a five year old.

Both brothers shared a look, but Sam continued on, “Anyway, I found a half-empty bottle of love potion, a couple hex bags, and a spell book.”

“What spell was it open to?” Dean asked.

“World transportation. It apparently transports someone to another world until they get killed.”

“Then they come back to this one,” Aline guessed. _Is that how I can be Junko?_ she wondered.

“Pretty much.”

Then Dean and Sam started planning on how to take Dove out. Aline, however, didn't pay attention, instead pulling her phone out of her pocket. The messages part was open, and the most recent text said: _'maybe we can talk about it over dinner tonite. xoxo'_

Aline blushed and replied with, _'sure. where do you wanna meet?'_ Her heart was racing in both excitement and nervousness.

_'my place? 7 pm? i'll get pizza and i can watch you play danganronpa.'_

_'make it stuffed crust bacon and you've got yourself a deal.'_

_'you got it.'_

She grinned, plugged in her headphones, and started her music. Maybe she could wear part of that Chiaki cosplay. It was in her bag, after all.

( _she has to look nice for prettybeautifulgorgeoushotpretty dove._ )

[ she didn't realize that both Sam and Dean looking back at her. the moment they heard her music start playing through her headphones, Sam asked Dean, “What happened in there?”

“While I was flirting with Lyon, Aline walked around and looked at the games. Lyon's flirting right back, and we just go back and forth. Five minutes in, and I hear her scream quietly. We both turned around and barely saw the top of Aline's head over the shelves,” Dean began.

“You mean that excited one?”

Dean nodded. “That's the one. I was gonna walk over to see what the problem was, but Lyon had already excused herself and walked over to her. She took a spray bottle out of her pocket, sprayed herself with whatever it was before putting it back, came up behind Aline, and said something to her. Aline almost took a step back, but she held up the game that she was apparently excited to see. Lyon moved closer to her and pulled her behind another set of shelves. Minutes later, Lyon comes out and returns to the register, apologizing to me. Aline reappeared five minutes after that, face flushed. Then she paid for the game and we left.”

“What game did she buy?”

“It was _Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc._ Why? Does that have anything to do with why Aline's defending Lyon's makeup choice when she criticized it earlier?”

“Dean, all four victims weren't very fond of her until they went in and bought a game. Then they started defending her.” He looked back at the smiling Aline. “And Aline's gonna be victim number five.”

Dean clenched the steering wheel. “We're ganking the bitch, soon.” ]

**//**

Aline pulled her pale brown skirt up. It was 6:20 pm, forty minutes until her date with Dove.

(was it okay to call it a date? Dove was clearly okay with calling it that, especially in the past seven text messages they sent back and forth to each other.)

She was wearing part of her Chiaki cosplay, just like she'd wanted (Dove was _definitely_ happy with it, if the heart eye emojis were anything to go by). A white buttoned shirt with a pink ribbon, pale brown skirt, blue-grey thigh highs, and pink shoes. All she had to put on was the one button blue-grey cardigan with the pointy-eared hood and two pink markings on the front.

And the Galaga pin. She couldn't forget about that.

And she put both on before leaving the bathroom.

“Well, what do you guys think?” she questioned, twirling a few times.

“Very nice, but what's the occasion?” Sam asked. Dean, however, was speechless, his jaw dropped in shock.

[ in his mind, Aline Peverell looked adorable in that outfit, but Dean didn't say anything. ]

She stopped twirling and grinned at the younger Winchester. “I have a date tonight.”

Dean's jaw snapped shut. “With whom?” he asked.

Aline sighed dreamily and grabbed _Trigger Happy Havoc._ “Dove.”

“You're...going on a _date..._ with a killer witch?”

The brunette glared. “She's not a killer witch, okay? Dove just sells games, most of which I enjoy. Now, I'm gonna go have fun, eat stuffed crust bacon pizza, play my game while she watches me, and probably crash at her place. So don't wait up, and I'll see you in the morning.” With that, she pulled up her hood and walked out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

She hotwired the closest car and drove to Dove's apartment.

Aline smiled dreamily, all her thoughts revolving around ( _prettybeautifulgorgeoushotpretty_ ) Dove as she drove to Dove's apartment.

[ Dean stood up and watched through the curtains as Aline hotwired the car and drove off to _The Ultimate Dojo._

“We're taking her out. Tonight,” Dean stated, and Sam pulled out the gun and began loading it with witch-killing bullets. ]

**//**

Aline was having fun. She and Dove were sitting on the couch in Dove's apartment, half of the stuffed crust bacon pizza was gone.

The _whole apartment_ smelled like Dove (apple pie and leather and gunpowder), making her head spin and her face flush.

[ _it was fun, seeing aline act practically lovey-dovey with her. she wasn't the first girl dove brought home with her before sending her off to her death, and she wouldn't be the last. that love potion mixed with the 'I can do anything and you'll totally let me' potion (it was hard keeping track of the names) always worked wonders. aline was focused on the game, but dove could tell she was semi-distracted. her apartment had been sprayed with the leftovers of that love potion._

_well, it wasn't exactly a love potion. it just smelled like what the victim was attracted to, making her wonder, not for the first time, what aline smelled on her._

_what exactly made her fall hook line and sinker to a clear death trap._

_she didn't ask. instead, she pressed her lips to aline's cheek._ ]

Aline faltered a bit, her face heating up.

“You really know what you're doing, huh?” Dove whispered, her lips inches away from her cheek.

“Well, I _have_ played it a bunch of times, along with the second game and Ultra Despair Girls,” Aline stuttered out.

“And you were selected to be a cosplay group's Junko?”

...how did she know that? Her brain felt too fuzzy and warm and empty and she felt as drawn to the game as she was to Dove.

But something was pressing her to answer the blond.

“...yeah...” Her voice was as low as Dove's.

Dove climbed on top of her, pulling the brunette's attention away from the game. Aline's whole body felt numb, like she was under some sort of spell.

( _she's not a witch,_ a voice whispered soothingly. _d_ _ove won't hurt you._ and she believed it.)

[ _there literally were hearts in the brunette's eyes. side effect of the potion, but dove loved it. it let her know just how much further she had to push in order to be able to send her victims to their doom._

_always as the character that dies._

_then, aline would be found dead, probably by that agent she'd flirted with._

_he'd be next, then, shortly followed by whoever ransacked her apartment._ ]

Dove moved closer to her, looking her right in the eye. “You wanna really be her?”

( _youwannabejunkoyouwannabejunko_ )

That was the moment it felt like something in her clicked. “Yes. Will you help me?”

( _I wanna be Junko. But how?_ )

“Of course. You can be Junko.”

Suddenly, the door was kicked down, and Sam and Dean entered, their guns aimed at Dove.

“Freeze, bitch,” Dean growled.

However, she stood up, pulling the now-willing Aline up with her.

[ That was when Dean saw Aline's pink eyes, hearts in the middle. ]

“Now, Aline,” Dove stated, turning her toward Sam (practically moving toward his gun), “which character would he be?”

[ Sam only faltered for a second. It seemed as if Aline didn't even see the gun. She just saw him, standing there.

That was when she said a name.

Dean saw Lyon smirk as she turned herself and Aline towards Dean, moving to stand directly in front of his gun. She pressed Aline's forehead to the gun, practically _daring_ him to shoot through her. ]

“What about him?”

Aline looked at Dean, her head tilted to the side as she thought.

Did that mean that Sam and Dean would be coming too?

Aline smiled. _She wouldn't be alone. She'd have Sam and Dean there._

But... _who would Dean be?_

[ _dove kept her eyes on the agent...no,_ hunter. _all three of them were hunters._

 _that meant they_ knew she was a witch.

_however, aline, thanks to the combination of the love potion and the other one, didn't believe it/didn't remember that detail. that wouldn't change even when she landed in the game._

_this was the only way to get out of this situation._

_the only way she could think of. and if the other two killed her before that happened, that would be just peachy. they'd die in the game and that would be the end of it._

_...but then she mentally cursed the moment the name left aline's lips. dove managed to keep her cool even as she turned them toward the other one, pressing the brunette's forehead to the gun._

_of course, she wouldn't see the guns. she'd believe that they'd come with her to the date._

_dove almost wanted to press for her to pick one of the other characters that didn't survive, but she didn't._ ]

Her fuzzy brain struggled to remember the other characters. Each time a name and face popped up, she shoved it away until...

…she said another name, and her body no longer felt numb, her brain cleared.

And she felt Dean's gun on her forehead.

The haze was gone, and she took Dean's gun the moment Dove turned away.

_Dove wanted to kill her. She was the witch._

[ The pink hearts were gone, and Dean felt relieved as Aline grabbed his gun. He watched her quickly turn around and aim the gun at the witch.

Lyon, however, was distracted, her focus on what Dean assumed to be her spell book. ]

Aline was angry at herself. She'd let her guard down in the shop, and Lyon had taken advantage of it. She could still smell that scent she'd believed was hers, when it was actually Dean's. It surrounded her, attempting to pull her back under.

( _dove won't hurt you. she's helping you to be junko. trust her. drop the gun. trust her._ )

Her hand began to shake.

( _you wanna be junko. you wanna be junko. trust prettybeautifulgorgeoushotpretty dove. she'll take care of you, help you be junko. she won't hurt you._ )

The haze was starting to come back.

( _dean and sam wanna hurt you. they wanna hurt dove. they wanna_ kill _her_. _don't let them kill her. protect her. you love her._ )

Aline clenched her jaw and grabbed the gun with her other hand, trying to block those ~~warm,~~ ~~ _protectdove_~~ cold thoughts that ~~were hers~~ weren't her thoughts. She took a step forward, and Dove began to chant.

_“Et mittetis per eos ad ludum mundi. Et mittetis per eos ad Danganronpa.”_

( _dove won't hurt you. she wants to protect you._ )

Dove turned to face her with the book in hand, brown locked on azure as she continued as if Aline wasn't going to pull the trigger.

_“Fac ei in extremae desperationi. Junko fac ei.”_

Aline almost stumbled as the whispers changed.

( _kill dove. that would be_ kyūkyoku no zetsubō, _right?_ )

The gun almost fell out of her hand, which had become steady. Aline clutched her aching head. She was going to shoot Lyon anyway because she killed people.

As if a switch flipped inside of her brain, Lyon, somehow, transformed into a man in his late thirties, with dark purple hair wearing a black suit and purple tie. He was tied to a chair with his eyes blindfolded and his hands tied behind his back.

She looked down at her hand and saw that the gun had been replaced with a button. Standing next to her was a familiar black and white bear.

Aline took a step back, her hand now covering her mouth.

_She knew where she was and what she was seeing._

[ Dean had his eyes locked on her, wondering what she was thinking as her hand shook. Before he could ask what was wrong, Lyon said something he couldn't hear and the brunette's hand stopped shaking.

Her other hand, which was helping her to hold the gun steady, dropped to her side. Dean slowly moved to stand next to her, Sam staying right where he was.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, and his insides dropped.

_Her eyes were pink again._

This time, however, there were no hearts, which was a relief. Yet, her eyes were locked on Lyon, but it was like she wasn't even seeing her.

Dean glared at the witch. “Let her go,” he growled, but the blond only smirked and she continued chanting.

_“Et mittetis per eos ad ludum mundi. Et mittetis per eos ad Danganronpa.”_

Aline, however, aimed the gun directly at the blond's head. 

 _“Kyūkyoku no zetsubō,_ right?” she questioned, her hand now steady. “You wanna feel that, _ne?”_

Her tone was _mocking,_ like she believed Lyon wasn't worthy of her presence.

Lyon nodded _(she was clearly enjoying this! as if she thought she was gonna survive this.)_ as she continued chanting. ]

 

Aline watched the man as he struggled, her hand dropping to her side.

Then, she pushed the button.

[ Aline pulled the trigger, and the bullet slowly flew out like it was in slow motion. ]

The man was locked inside a rocket shaped like an iron maiden with the bear's face on it and drilled through several floors of the building. Minutes later, the rocket crashed back down into the classroom. The door reopened, revealing the man's skeleton and the sad expression fixed on his skull.

[ With one last shout of _“_ _Et mittetis per eos ad ludum mundi. Et mittetis per eos ad Danganronpa.”_ , the bullet lodged in Lyon's forehead, killing her. ]

The execution was over, and it felt... _oddly satisfying._

So much so that she began to spastically laugh, the bear doing the same.

[ The last sound Dean heard was Aline laughing.

It wasn't her normal laugh, the one he loved. He wasn't able to figure out what was wrong with it before everything went black. ]

* * *

  _ **Aline's outfit:  
**_

> _**** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ### TRANSLATIONS
> 
> ~ **“Et mittetis per eos ad ludum mundi. Et mittetis per eos ad Danganronpa.”** \- Send them to the game world. Send them to Danganronpa. (Latin)  
>  ~ **“Fac ei in extremae desperationi. Junko fac ei.”** \- Make her into ???. Make her Junko. (Latin)  
>  ~ **“kyūkyoku no zetsubō.”** \- ??? (Japanese)  
>  ~ **“ne?”** \- right? (Japanese)
> 
> Before anyone asks, yes, I know what **"Fac ei in extremae desperationi"** and **"kyūkyoku no zetsubō"** mean. I just chose to leave them untranslated. I can't give too much away, can I? ;)


	2. Welcome to Despair Academy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The game begins...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **  
> **  
>  _24 pages & 11,087 words!_  
> If you were wondering why this chapter was taking so long, just look at that total. There might be a break between chapters again, I'm sorry to say.
> 
> Anyway, this chapter features dialogue from both _Trigger Happy Havoc_ and _Danganronpa: the Animation._ I made sure to add a difference between the two. Another thing that I included from the game was the school rules/regulations. What that looks like will be in the key.
> 
> Before I get into that, here's the disclaimer:
> 
>  **DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Supernatural or the Danganronpa series or any of their characters/locations. Supernatural  & its characters are owned by Erik Kripke & the CW. Danganronpa & its characters/locations are owned by Spike Chunsoft. _Danganronpa: the Animation_ is licensed by Funimation. I only own Aline Peverell, Dove Lyon, and the story idea. I also only play in the waffle-filled, Pepto-Bismol colored sandbox known as Danganronpa.
> 
> ## KEY
> 
>  _“This is text from the game/anime.”_ _This is thoughts._
>
>>  
>> 
>> **Notes look like this.**  
> 
> 
> [ This is a POV change. ]
> 
> This is text from the game.   
>  **THIS IS THE STUDENT HANDBOOK.**
> 
> **SO IS THIS.**  
>  **This is a school  
> **  
>  regulation/rule.  
> 
> 
> ****
> 
> ****_This is dialogue from a video._****
> 
> ## Now, onto the despair!!!
> 
> ****

Dean opened his eyes and found himself staring at a desk. He lifted his head up to see that he was in an empty classroom.

 _Strange,_ he thought. _The last thing I remember is Aline shooting the witch and her laughing strangely._

“Now, where the hell am I?” he asked aloud, and he almost fell out of the chair.

That wasn't his voice. His voice was deeper. Now, he sounded like he hadn't yet gotten past puberty. He looked down at his hands. There were no rough calluses from hunting, no scars.

These hands (it was hard to think of them as his) looked like they hadn't held anything but a pencil or phone.

He looked down at himself. Instead of the muscles he'd gained from hunting, he now had a rather thin and petite build. Gone was the fed suit and fancy dress shoes. They were replaced by a zipped-up dull green hoodie with a red stripe along the zipper, an open black jacket with gold buttons over the hoodie, black jeans, and red sneakers with white toes. A pin shaped like a four-pointed star overlaid on a crescent moon was pinned on the lapel of his jacket.

None of this screamed Dean Winchester. This was someone else.

That was when a name popped into his head.

_Naegi Makoto._

A memory flashed before his eyes to accompany the name.

_**Makoto's standing in front of a giant school, letter held in his hand. His brain reminds him that he's here as the Ultimate Lucky Student, the title given to him after winning a nation-wide lottery.** _

_**The school apparently normally was reserved for students who are at the top in their field, hence him earning the title of Ultimate Lucky Student.** _

_**With trepidation, he takes his first step into the school building, only for the world around him to warp before his eyes.** _

_**And the world goes black.** _

Dean gasped and opened his eyes.

“That...was weird,” he muttered, looking around the classroom. “So I'm back in school... _fan-freakin'-tastic!”_

The windows were boarded up with metal plates, which was strange. There was no on else in the room, another mark in the strange tally.

A sniff of the air revealed it to be clear of sulfur, which meant no demons. There were also no cold spots, which ruled out ghosts.

Then he remembered Lyon holding a spell book, spewing out a spell in Latin, and he groaned. However, the moment he looked at the teacher's desk and saw a cheap-looking brochure for the school, he pushed it to the back of his mind. His main priority was finding Sam and Aline, followed by getting them all out of here before something happened.

He picked up the pamphlet and, once he opened it, found a crude picture of the school drawn in crayon with some words written underneath.

 

> **Congratulations on enrolling.**
> 
> **A new term has begun. A fresh start. This school will become the world you guys live in.**
> 
> **The entrance ceremony starts at 8 o'clock. Assemble in the gym.**

Dean looked up at the clock and saw it was exactly 8 o'clock. Not knowing what to expect, he exited the classroom and entered the hallway.

The floor was black and white, like a chessboard, and the lights made the hall look pink.

“Man, can this place get any weirder?” He stuffed his hands into his pockets and heard the sound of paper crumbling in his left pocket. Pulling it out revealed a map of the school. Right before he was about to say something about the size of the place, he saw stairs to the second floor on the bottom left corner of the map, close to the gym.

He walked around, finding restrooms, another classroom next to the one he came out of, a hotel (“Despair Hotel? Seriously?”), a computer room, and a store. One other thing he noticed was a large futuristic door with two sets of automatic machine guns on either side. He pulled out the map, following the path he took with his pointer finger and found out he was in the main hall.

By the time he found the gym, he noticed that there were different lightbulbs, making that section of the hallway now green instead of pink.

It turned out the other students that he was looking for were, in fact, in the gym.

[ Aline looked over at the door once it opened, and she saw a boy with spiky desaturated brown hair with a prominent ahoge and washed out hazel eyes come inside. She almost smiled, but she looked over at Sam, who also looked to be hiding a smile.

 _Dean was here too, and he was okay._ ]

 _“U-Uh...”_ Dean stuttered out, the words coming out without him thinking about it. It was like something was controlling him.

 _“Oh, you a freshman too?”_ a male voice said. He looked to be in his early twenties, and he had dark brown extravagant hairstyle, spiky and large dreadlocks. He wore three layers of shirts (the top one being an old green uniform jacket, the second one being a white rough shirt, and his third layer is a small yellow short sleeve shirt), a brown haramaki with a yellow rope as his belt, black capris, and wooden sandals. Dean's brain reminded him that this guy was Hagakure Yasuhiro, the Ultimate Clairvoyant. _“This school's a bit weird.”_

_“Fifteen of us, eh?”_ another male voice stated. This guy was overweight with black hair and a short pointed ahoge. He wore a pair of black thick-rimmed glasses and was dressed in a white button-down shirt, an orange tie which had a patterned double-headed blue arrow upon it with the smaller arrowhead pointed upwards and the larger arrowhead pointing downwards to the tip of the tie, a pair of dark gray trousers, and white trainers. Over his shirt was a light grey, unbuttoned cardigan, and on his back was an orange backpack. _(Yamada Hifumi._ The name popped into his head. _The Ultimate Fanfic Creator.) “Is that everyone, now?”_

_“You!”_ a third boy spoke up, pointing at Dean with an angry look on his face. He had short spiky black hair, very large matching eyebrows, and intense red eyes. He wore a white uniform with five golden buttons on each sleeve and six on his chest, a red and gold medal on his chest, a red armband with kanji on it (“Public Morals,” his brain told him, surprising him), and knee-high black lace-up boots. _“You were told to be here at 8 o'clock! Being late is absolutely unacceptable!”_ This guy was Ishimaru Kiyotaka, the Ultimate Moral Compass, his brain once again filled in.

Man, this Ishimaru guy was intense. Reporting that someone was late to orientation? Dean was very glad he didn't know a guy like him back when he was in high school.

 _“Huh? What the heck're you talking about?”_ another female voice spoke up. She had a tall, hourglass figure, light blue eyes, and long, thick, strawberry blond hair tied in two pigtails. She wore a black cardigan over a white dress shirt, with both left open to expose the top of her black-and-red bra, a red miniskirt and mid-sized black boots with platform heels and red laces. A long white tie loosely dangled around her neck, with a pattern of stylized black bear heads. A white bunny hair clip and a large red and white bow were in her hair. She also had long (Dean guessed they were probably fake) red nails. Her arms were crossed over her chest. _“Who the hell cares about punctuality in this incomprehensible situation?”_

_Enoshima Junko, the Ultimate Fashionista._

She smiled at him in a familiar way, and he knew it was her.

_Aline Peverell._

_“Um...”_ another voice, female sounding, answered, hand raised. She had a small, lithe stature and doll-like appearance with short, light brown hair and hazel colored eyes. She was wearing a long-sleeved dark green jacket, a white shirt with a large Peter Pan collar secured with a thin dark ribbon, suspenders, a box-pleated brown mid-thigh length brown skirt, knee-high black socks, and white, ribboned mary janes. (however, Dean had seen enough anime to wonder whether or not this person was a girl or not.) _“Did you wake up in a classroom too?”_ (Fujisaki Chihiro, the Ultimate Programmer.)

_“Yeah, I did,”_ Dean answered.

 _“I knew it.”_ Fujisaki clasped her hands together. _“We all did too.”_

 _“Everyone lost consciousness, woke up, and then assembled here,”_ a second (third, if Fujisaki really was one) girl said. She had black hair in two large twin-drill pigtails, red eyes, and black nail polish. Gold circular earrings that had an image depicting the cross engraved into them with a red gem placed in the center of each were on her ears. She was wearing a gothic lolita-style outfit, consisting of a white blouse with a Peter-Pan collar, a black jacket that included white ribbon lacing down the sleeves fastened by a simple white ribbon across her chest to reval her red spear-and-skull-butterfly patterned tie, and the waist of her skirt, which was many-tiered and featured white lace. Knee-high stockings trimmed in ladder lace and red mary janes with a thick heel held on her feet by three grey buckles were on her legs and feet. On her index finger was a silver Gunmetal plated ring layered in overlapping sections. A white lace Mob cap rested on her head. The Ultimate Gambler Celestia Ludenberg, Dean's brain once again told him. _“An odd story, wouldn't you agree?”_ She almost sounded like she was amused.

_“The hell's with this place?”_ a fourth boy piped up. He had a tall stature and muscular build (which gave him a bulky figure), chiseled facial features which made him appear more manly and rough. He had an usual, dark-brown punch perm with an aippa, slightly tanned skin and a deep-ridged black eyeline circling his small purple eyes. His school uniform comprised of a black overcoat (adorned with the symbol of a biker gang (The Crazy Diamonds, his brain filled in) along with Japanese text and dragon symbol motifs colored orange, worn open over a white t-shirt, baggy black pants held up by a belt, and his shoes were white loafers. The buckle of his belt was shaped like some kind of Japanese animal Dean didn't recognize. However, his brain recognized the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader Owada Mondo. _“It's like the discrimination office I was in.”_

_“You think this is some kind of kidnappin' or somethin'?”_ a fifth boy asked. He had orange spiked hair, a goatee, and pale blue eyes. He wore a white blazer jacket with a popped collar, a white shirt with a red grunge skull design, dark blue jeans and white platform shoes with a black sole. He accessorized with a padlocked chain necklace, two overlapping studdet belts, rings, and an oversized safety pin on his lapel. He also had several piercings – his labret and six in his right ear. Dean also noticed one on his tongue when he opened his mouth to talk. His brain told him that was Kuwata Leon, the Ultimate Baseball Star. _“Is the punchline gonna be that we all got abducted?”_

_“It's gotta be some kind of special arrangement!”_ another girl stated. She had tanned skin, blue eyes, a rather curvaceous body, and brown hair that she had up in a ponytail (if he hadn't already seen that Aline was Enoshima, then this girl would've been his first guess). She wore blue athletic shorts, a red track suit jacket over a white tank top, white knee high socks, and green sneakers. (the Ultimate Swimming Pro Asahina Aoi.) _“I mean, it_ is _a special school, right?”_ Asahina looked over at another student.

This student had long white hair, reddened-dark skin, very pale blue eyes, and a scar on their face. Dean couldn't tell whether this person was a girl or boy, but their school uniform, which consisted of a white shirt with the sleeves torn off to make room for their muscular upper arms, a blue sailor collar, a short blue skirt, and a red tie, led him to believe that this was a girl. She wore bandages wrapped around her calves and forearms and gray shoes. (the Ultimate Martial Artist Ogami Sakura.) _“Whether or not it is, we need to find out what's going on,”_ Ogami said, confirming that she was a woman despite her deep voice.

_“Yeah...,”_ Dean stated after gulping. Afterwards, Asahina walked over to Ogami and continued to talk to her, Dean paying no attention to their conversation. Part of him (he decided to call it the Naegi part) felt starstruck just by being surrounded by students who were the best in their field.

Without realizing it, he found his gaze focused on a skinny girl with dark purple hair tied in two long braids, a pair of round eyeglasses, and the left side of her chin was marked by a small mole. She was wearing a Japanese school uniform with a noticeably lengthy skirt compared to those worn by other girls. She looked afraid once Dean realized that he was looking at her. _“Oh God! He's looking right at me!”_ she cried out. (the Ultimate Writing Prodigy Fukawa Toko)

_“Huh?”_ Dean asked.

Fukawa was shaking as she replied, _“Just because I'm ugly—”_

 _“What an eyesore,”_ another male student interrupted, catching both Fukawa's and Dean's attentions. He had a tall, slim figure, and wore a black suit with a white shirt underneath and a criss-cross tie. He had short, dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and wore white framed glasses. He was standing with his arms crossed, practically _oozing_ arrogance. He then looked at Dean, his eyes narrowed in a glare. _“The hell are you looking at?”_

Dean felt himself become nervous (though he had a feeling that he was _really_ gonna hate this guy, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny Togami Byakuya, at the end of this). _“N-Nothing,”_ he stuttered out before looking away. That was when he saw another girl. She was relatively tall with purple eyes and a pale complexion. She wore her lavender hair down and with a braid on the side, tied with a black ribbon. Her outfit consisted of a dark purple collared jacket over a white blouse and brown tie, along with a black short skirt and heeled knee-high boots. Black gloves covered her hands, making him curious as to why she wore them. She looked to be thinking and occasionally shared glances with Aline.

His brain told him that she was Kirigiri Kyoko, ultimate title unknown.

Dean looked over at Aline, who was apparently struggling not to laugh, then back to Kirigiri. The lavender haired girl looked to be giving an oh-so-familiar bitch face to the other girl.

That was when he figured out that Kirigiri Kyoko was his brother, making Dean chuckle.

However, the bitch face disappeared the moment Sam looked at him, an emotionless mask replaced it. _“What?”_ There was absolutely no trace of Sam Winchester. It was all Kirigiri.

Dean waved his hands, nervous again. _“N-Nothing!”_ He then laughed awkwardly and walked away, sighing once he was far enough away from Sam. Dean _really_ wanted to laugh (his brother was a girl now, for God's sake! Maybe this would provide him with enough incentive to, _**finally,**_ cut his hair), but he was interrupted by someone speaking.

_“Um..you're Naegi, right?”_

Dean opened his eyes and looked up, locking eyes with a very attractive girl. She had long, dark blue hair that was held in place with several clips and dark blue eyes lined with eyeliner, cheeks colored with blush. Her school uniform comprised of a long sleeved white shirt with a blue sailor collar and a pink bow, a blue tartan skirt, black thigh-high socks and brown buckled shoes.

 _“We went to junior high together,”_ she continued.

 _“Maizono?”_ he stated curiously.

_Maizono Sayaka, the Ultimate Pop Sensation._

[ Aline was watching Dean and Maizono out of the corner of her eye as she pretended to fix her pigtail. As he talked with the idol, it was hard to see any trace of Dean on him. It was all Makoto.

Yet she knew that Makoto had a crush on Maizono. That meant that Dean would be feeling those feelings as well.

 _And she was not looking forward to it at all._ ]

_“It's so nice to see a familiar face here.”_

Dean's eyes widened. _“Huh? Wait, Maizono...Do you remember me?”_

 _“Of course I do!”_ She tilted her head to the side and smiled. _“I mean, we went to the same school for three years straight.”_ She held up three fingers.

Dean put his hands on his head and shut his eyes. He felt like he wasn't in control of his body anymore. _“That's true, but...”_ He opened his eyes and looked at Maizono. _“I didn't think someone as popular as you would pay any attention to a plain guy like me.”_

 _“What?”_ The bluenette looked surprised. _“You thought I was that cold and distant?”_ She then covered her face with her hands. _“I'm hurt!”_

Dean's hands fell to his side, his jaw dropping in shock. For some reason, it hurt him to see her hurt, like his feelings transferred from Aline to Maizono. He bowed apologetically and shut his eyes. _“Th-That's not what I...”_

He trailed off when he heard her giggle. _“Just kidding.”_

Dean looked up at her. Her hands weren't covering her face anymore and she was smiling. He breathed a sigh of relief and put his hand on his chest. _“Don't tease me like that!”_

[ Aline looked over at the two again once she heard Maizono giggle. Then she saw Dean smile fondly and laugh as well. ]

 _“Do you plan on flirting all day?”_ Togami asked, catching Dean's and Maizono's attentions. The affluent progeny was pushing his glasses up with his finger, his other hand on his hip. _“Let's get down to business already.”_

_“Business?”_

Togami turned away. _“Why is this happening? We should figure out who's behind all this.”_

[ Aline knew who it was, but she didn't say anything. She couldn't, after all. It wasn't time yet, and she knew it. ]

 _“We're just being imprisoned here!”_ Fukawa cried out, her hands on either side of her head and her glasses hanging off one ear.

 _“You know what's more important?”_ Aline inquired. _“Finding out where all my stuff went. I have no idea where my cell phone is.”_

 _“Huh?”_ Dean questioned before he, along with the other thirteen students, began to search their pockets for their things. Dean was hoping that he'd find his stuff (like his gun and the keys to Baby) were back in his own body. However, he found nothing of Naegi's.

 _“Neither do I,”_ Ogami pointed out. _“That must mean someone took them from us.”_

 _“Come on, guys,”_ Hagakure stated, _“cheer up. This is probably some kind of orientation that the school planned out.”_ That was when he pulled out a crystal ball. _“That's what my crystal ball's telling me!”_

 _“For real?”_ Kuwata asked curiously. _“Is it accurate?”_

 _“My fortune-telling's right thirty percent of the time!”_ He sounded a little _too_ proud of that statement, in Dean's opinion.

 _“Only thirty percent?”_ Fukawa questioned almost angrily.

Hagakure looked a bit less proud of that number before the sound of electronic feedback rang through the gym.

 _“Testing,”_ an unfamiliar male voice said through the school tannoy. _“Testing._ _Whatever. I'm sure you can all hear this.”_

Everybody was curious as to who that voice belonged to. All eyes were on that stage.

The stranger cleared their throat before continuing. _“Hello to all the freshman. Let us begin the entrance ceremony.”_

Hagakure put his hand on his hip, a smile on his face. _“See? This is how Hope's Peak Academy rolls out the red carpet!”_ he stated loudly.

 _“No,”_ Sam answered seriously, _“that's not it.”_

Dean looked at him curiously. Before he could ask, a half-black half-white bear appeared on the podium on the stage. The white half had the classic expression of a teddy bear. The black side, however, had a red horizontal stripe for an eye and an evil smile. He had a large, obvious belly button (with an “X” shaped mark on it) on the underside of his belly.

For the first time in a while, Dean's mouth said what he really wanted to say, _“A stuffed toy?”_

The bear appeared to get mad. _“I'm not a stuffed toy!”_ he stated. _“I'm Monokuma,”_ he paused and stood up, _“the principal of this school. Pleased to meet you.”_

 _“That stuffed toy just moved!”_ Yamada practically screamed.

_“I'm not a stuffed toy! I'm Monokuma. And I'm your principal.”_

_“Principal?”_ Dean asked curiously, but Monokuma didn't hear him.

 _“Now that we've made some progress, let's get this show on the road. Stand and bow!”_ Monokuma bowed at the end of his statement. _“Good morning to you all.”_

Ishimaru was the only one that bowed. _“Good morning!”_ he greeted loudly.

Fukawa looked scared. _“Sheesh, don't listen to him!”_ she stated.

Monokuma stood up straight, his paws locked behind his back. _“You are the promising, young high school students who carry the hopes of the world on your shoulders. And in order to protect and care for you wonderful symbols of hope, I have decided to let you all live together within the confines of this school.”_

 _“Say what?”_ Kuwata and Owada asked at the same time.

 _“Wait—”_ Dean started to say, but Aline stepped in front of him. He saw that she looked _pissed._

 _“What's the meaning of this?!”_ she shouted, light azure eyes narrowed in a glare.

 _“As for how long you will be living together...”_ Monokuma paused, like he had to think about it. _“There is no time limit!”_

Dean took a step back. _What kinda school_ is _this?_ he thought as he, and everyone else, gave a cry of shock.

_“Basically, you'll all be staying here for the rest of your lives!”_

_“What the heck?”_ Kuwata choked out, his hand clenched in a fist.

 _“The rest of our lives...here?”_ Fujisaki questioned.

 _“Don't worry,”_ Monokuma said. _“We've got a huge budget, so you won't be inconvenienced in any way.”_

 _“Hold on a second,”_ Maizono cried out. _“That's not the issue here!”_

 _“Like, you've gotta be kidding me!”_ Aline angrily said.

 _“So wait, those steel plates in the classrooms and hallways are there to keep us locked in here?”_ Dean asked.

 _“Correct,”_ Monokuma answered. _“So you can yell and scream all you want, but nobody's going to come and save you.”_

 _“If what you're saying is true, then it'd be quite a problem,”_ Celestia replied, covering her mouth with her hand. _“We couldn't possibly live in school forever.”_

[ Even though she knew that line was coming, Aline's heart stopped. She knew what was coming, what was gonna happen, and, not for the first time since entering this world, she cursed Lyon. However, she was thankful that whatever spell she used on Aline was long gone.

Still, she knew what was gonna happen to her, and she covertly shared a look with Sam. Kirigiri's emotionless mask had disappeared, and she could see Sam Winchester's worry. Aline had a feeling, even though he was playing as Kirigiri, he didn't know what was going to happen. ]

Monokuma cleared his throat. _“So, whoever wants to leave this academy will have to play by a certain rule.”_

 _“A rule?”_ Togami asked.

 _“I don't care how you do it,”_ the bear replied, front-flipping off of the podium as he continued on, _“but only students who have killed someone will be allowed to leave this place.”_ He then landed right in front of them. _“That's all there is to it. Pretty simple, no? You can use a blunt weapon, stab, beat them to death, put them to the sword, burn them to a crisp, crush them, strangle them, or even shoot them!”_ He turned his back on everyone and let out an _“Upupupu!”_ , pulling a salmon out of nowhere. _“Oh, what an ingenious sense of exhilaration that I can't achieve just by attacking salmon or humans!”_ He turned around again, his black half facing them. _“A situation full of despair where the hopes of this world attempt to kill each other...”_ He turned to face them completely, his paws together and his white ear pink with a blush. _“Man, it gets me so hot!”_ He panted, sweat dripping down the white half of his body.

 _“Are you serious?!”_ Kuwata shouted.

 _“Why do we have to kill one another?”_ Maizono cried out.

 _“She's right!”_ Yamada yelled, his arms over his head. _“Stop spouting that bullcrap and let us go home already!”_

 _“'Bullcrap'?”_ Monokuma inquired, his tone turning serious and his lightning bolt eye flashing. _“What do you mean, 'bullcrap'?”_ The salmon, which had fallen from his paws, was flopping on the floor as he walked between the sixteen students. _“Listen up. From here on, this academy is your home. It's your society. Your world. You can do absolutely anything you want, so feel free to go wild, I say!”_

However, Owada stepped right in front of him, clearly pissed off. _“'Kill each other'?!”_ he stated incredulously, kneeling down to look at the bear eye to eye. _“This practical joke's gone way too far, buddy!”_

_“Joke, you say? Are you talking about your hairstyle?”_

Owada, even more pissed off, picked Monokuma up by his plush throat. _“What was that, you piece of shit? I don't care if you're radio-controlled or a stuffed toy. I'll smash you to bits and pieces.”_ As if to emphasize that statement, he shook him.

 _“Acts of violence towards the principal go against school regulations!”_ Monokuma yelled, waving his arms.

Suddenly, there was a beeping sound, like a countdown timer. Dean immediately put the pieces together and noticed Sam did as well.

 _“What the hell's this noise?”_ Owada asked.

 _“This is bad!”_ Sam shouted. _“Throw him away!”_

_“Huh?”_

_“Just do it already!”_

Fortunately, Owada listened to her without any more questions. He threw Monokuma, and the bear exploded seconds later. Dean and the other fifteen students let out cries of shock.

 _Does that mean he's gone?_ Dean wondered. _“What the hell?”_ he asked aloud.

 _“He goddamn exploded?”_ Owada inquired.

 _“Did that stuffed toy die?”_ Fujisaki questioned.

 _“I'm not a stuffed toy! I'm Monokuma!”_ a familiar voice rang out, confirming what Dean had, subconsciously, already known. Dean turned around in time to see Monokuma pop out from behind the podium, just like he'd done earlier. _“Ta-da!”_

Dean felt his stomach drop. As if getting out of this world would be _that_ easy.

 _“S-Screw you!”_ Owada shouted, stuttering only a tiny bit.

Monokuma put his paws on his hips. _“I'll let you off with just a warning this time, but the next time I find someone breaking the school rules,”_ he paused, claws coming out with a _schnick_ and teddy bear eye narrowed in a dangerous glare, _“I'll activate my superb corporal punishment function like I did just now.”_ Dean gulped as the bear continued. _“Now, then. This ends the entrance ceremony. I hope you all enjoy this affluent and gloomy high school life.”_ With that, he was gone.

 _“So the only way out of this school is to kill someone in this group?”_ Celestia inquired, playing with her hair.

 _“That's just absurd...”_ Ishimaru pointed out, a glance his way revealed sweat pouring down his face.

 _“This has to be some kind of joke, right?”_ Fujisaki asked fearfully, hazel eyes filling with tears.

Togami let out a laugh (oh yeah, Dean thought, he _definitely_ wasn't going to like him by the end of this). _“The problem isn't whether or not it's a joke,”_ he pointed out, _“it's whether or not there's anyone among us foolish enough to take that seriously.”_

That was when everyone began looking at each other suspiciously, the air suddenly becoming heavy.

Dean knew that Aline and Sam wouldn't.

 _But they aren't Aline and Sam right now,_ his brain pointed out. _They're Enoshima and Kirigiri. People you don't know._

The silence was pierced by Sam's sharp words.

 _“So?”_ she asked. _“What are you going to do now? Just stand around glaring at each other?”_

Her pointed comment was directed at everyone in the room, pulling them back to reality.

 _“R-Right...She's right!”_ Ishimaru stuttered out. _“Sometimes, even if you're nervous or afraid, you just have to step forward!” _ His fist clenched in the air, red eyes filling with tears. _“To forget such a simple fact...I can't forgive myself. I'm so ashamed! Please, someone hit me! I can't forgive myself! Somebody hit me! Punish me!” _ His voice had risen to a yell.

 _“Jesus,”_ Owada spat. _“If you have time to yell about it, you have time to_ do _something about it.”_

 _“Perhaps, but...”_ Yamada paused, sweat dripping down his forehead, _“...what is the mission, exactly?”_

 _“Idiot! To look for a way out, duh!”_ Kuwata responded, pointing his finger at his head.

Aline's hand was tightly clenched, fake nails making indents on her palm, and light blue eyes narrowed in a glare. _“And we totally need to find out whoever was controlling that stupid bear and beat the hell out of 'em,” _ she stated.

 _“...B-But before we do that,”_ Fujisaki added, _“maybe we should take a look at this.” _ She pulled a small device that was about the same size as an iPod out of her jacket pocket, showing that it had the school logo on the lockscreen. _“It's probably best to check out the school regulations Monokuma mentioned before doing anything else.”_

Celestia smiled, locking her hands together under her chin. _“True,”_ she said. _“If we stumble around with no clue what the rules are, something like that might happen again...”_

 _“Shit...”_ Owada cursed through clenched teeth.

 _“Fine. Then let's hurry up and check out the stupid rules already,”_ Aline answered while Asahina and Oogami walked up the bleachers towards the metal plates blocking the windows.

However, Dean didn't pay any attention to them (not even the punch echoing through the gym caught his attention), instead pulling out the device he'd found in his pocket. The lockscreen had the logo for the school on it, but it changed when he tapped it with his finger. Then it said:

**HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY**

**ELECTRONIC STUDENT HANDBOOK**

Then he saw a picture of Naegi Makoto, who he was apparently playing as (it reminded him of the trickster's game back before Sam dragged himself, Lucifer, Michael, and Adam into Hell). He read on.

**HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY**

**ELECTRONIC STUDENT HANDBOOK**

 

 

> Name **  
> NAEGI MAKOTO**
> 
> Height: **160cm**  
>  Weight: **52kg**  
>  Chest: **75cm  
>  ** Specialty: **  
> ULTIMATE LUCKY STUDENT**
> 
> **The above person is a student of this academy. Hope's Peak Private Academy Principal.**

There was an icon on the side called **'School Regulations.'** Dean tapped on it, tapping an arrow every so often.

**HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY**

**ELECTRONIC STUDENT HANDBOOK**

**1 >**

**Students may reside only within the school.**

**Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time.**

**HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY**

**ELECTRONIC STUDENT HANDBOOK**

**< 2  >**

 

**“Nighttime” is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Some areas**

 

**are off-limits at night, so please exercise**

**caution.**

**HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY**

**ELECTRONIC STUDENT HANDBOOK**

**< 3  >**

**Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will**

**be seen as sleeping in class and punished**

**accordingly.**

**HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY**

**ELECTRONIC STUDENT HANDBOOK**

**< 4  >**

**With minimal restrictions, you are free to**

**explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion.**

**HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY**

**ELECTRONIC STUDENT HANDBOOK**

**< 5  >**

**Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is strictly**

**prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance**

**cameras.**

**HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY**

**ELECTRONIC STUDENT HANDBOOK**

**< 6  >**

**Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes**

**& ldquo.blackened” will graduate, unless they are**

**discovered.**

**HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY**

**ELECTRONIC STUDENT HANDBOOK**

**< 7**

**Additional school regulations may be added**

**as necessary.**

Dean's jaw dropped.

 _“Damn, that's cool!”_ Hagakure stated. _“This electronic student handbook's pretty rad.”_

(Dean guessed that he still wasn't convinced that all this was really happening.)

Asahina jumped down from the second bleacher to the floor. _“No good,”_ she stated with a frown.

 _“Same here,”_ Owada pointed out, kicking the podium. _“Damn it.”_

Kuwata searched the opposite side Owada was on, apparently looking for the trap door Monokuma disappeared through.

 _“Let's not lose hope!”_ Ishimaru shouted enthusiastically. _“I'm sure there's a clue that'll help us get out of here!”_

 _“Yeah!”_ Asahina replied. _“Moping about isn't going to change anything.”_

 _“That's right,”_ Oogami added.

Kuwata stood up straight, rubbing the back of his head. _“Oh well. Let's go search around this place.”_

 _“I'll go by myself,”_ Togami declared.

 _“Huh?”_ everyone shouted.

 _“Why?”_ Aline asked, hands on her hips and light blue eyes narrowed in a glare.

 _“Because there's a chance that someone here might already be planning to kill.”_ He then began to exit the gym.

 _“But that's...”_ Maizono began, but the blond progeny interrupted her.

_“...not true? There's no guarantee.”_

_“Hold it right there!”_ Owada yelled as he caught up to him and glared. _“You're not gonna get away with being that selfish!”_

Togami laughed, clearly unamused. _“Out of my way, plankton.”_

 _“What was that?”_ The biker sounded even more pissed off, his fist slapping his hand. _“Looks like you want a nice beating.”_ He cracked his knuckles.

Before he could stop himself, Dean ran over, yelling, _“W-Wait!”_ He swapped between looking at Togami and Owada. _“What's fighting among ourselves gonna achieve?”_

[ Aline's eyes were locked on Dean, her heart pounding in her chest. She wanted to pull him away and protect him. She knew he could handle himself.

But he wasn't Dean Winchester right now.

Right now, he was Naegi Makoto, the Ultimate Luckster.

The guy that just wanted to be a peacekeeper.

Dean could fight. He had the muscles to back it up, which made Lyon push her to make him Owada.

But he _couldn't be Owada._

_She wouldn't let him. Or Sam be Ishimaru._

Naegi was the best choice for him, in her mind.

Even though it would lead to this. ]

Owada turned his glare on Dean. _“Huh? Such admirable words. You tryin' to lecture me? You think you can tell me what I can and can't do?!”_ Owada's voice raised to a shout.

Dean could see a vein pulsing in the biker's forehead. Dean backed away, holding his hands out in front of him. _(he was afraid)_ _“That's not what I—”_

 _“Can it!”_ Owada pulled his hand back and punched him.

The last thing he heard before falling unconscious was Aline yelling _his_ name, not Naegi's.

**//**

A ceiling.

A black ceiling with white boards going across it.

That was what Dean found himself staring at when he opened his eyes, then a red wall, a lamp hanging from the ceiling, a clock, a wooden desk, and, last but not least, his socked feet on the bed.

 _“Where am I?”_ he asked. It was something he wanted to say, but he didn't say it. It was like he was in the gym again, with someone forcing him to read from a movie script.

He looked to his left and saw Maizono sitting on a wooden chair by the bed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a wooden bookshelf with a gold-painted ornamental sword. He quickly sat up in surprise before kneeling on the mattress.

 _“Maizono!”_ he yelled in surprise.

The blue-haired idol smiled. _“Thank goodness,”_ she said, clearly relieved that he was awake.

_“Er, where are we?”_

_“Your room.”_

_“Huh?”_ He looked around him, seeing the boarded up windows (like in the classroom he woke up in), a door (he guessed it led to the bathroom), a set of drawers behind the bed, a TV by the first door, a camera in the corner of the room, a second door that he guessed led outside the room ( _his_ room), and a lint roller on the blue floor. There was a notepad on the dresser and a brand new toolkit in one of the drawers.

_“We each have our own room. I had Oogami and the others carry you here.”_

_“Where is everyone right now?”_

_“They all split up to look for clues.”_ Maizono looked down shyly, blushing. _“I was worried about you, though...”_

Dean blushed as well. _“Maizono...”_ He looked down at the white bedsheet with a smile. _“Th-Thanks.”_ Given Naegi's feelings at this point (because that's what those feelings were, _Naegi's),_ Dean knew it was hard for him to believe that Maizono would ever remember him.

_“But I do remember.”_

Dean felt his heart stop beating. _“Y-You heard that?”_

Maizono smiled. _“I'm an esper, you see.”_

_“Huh?”_

The bluenette laughed. _“Just kidding. It was just my intuition.”_

Dean laughed as well. _Man, she's too sharp,_ Dean found himself thinking. Maybe Naegi was beginning to rub off on him or something because that was definitely Naegi's thoughts right there.

_“But I really am glad to see a familiar face here.”_

His face felt hot as he stuttered out, _“Y-Yeah...”_ and got up from the bed, putting his shoes back on.

_“Are you feeling better?”_

_“Yeah. Plus, it's not like I can be the only one resting and taking it easy right now.” Sam and Aline are searching for the exit right now,_ he thought. _I wanna figure out how and where we can safely talk._ That was when he decided to check out his room more. He found the key to his room, and he tried to open what he believed was the bathroom door, but it wouldn't budge. However, he found a piece of paper hanging up on the wall. He pulled it off to read what it said:

 

> **Announcement from Headmaster Monokuma: Each room's lock has been designed to completely protect against tampering or lock-picking. Remaking an individual room key is quite troublesome, so please make sure not to lose yours. Your room comes furnished with a shower, but please note that the water is turned off at nighttime. Also, the bathrooms in the girls' rooms include a lock of their own.**
> 
> **Finally, we've prepared a small gift for each of you. For the girls, a sewing kit. And for the boys, a toolkit. The sewing kit includes a map of the body's vital organs. One stab will do the job, girls! For the boys, we believe a strong blow to the head with any of the tools should be ample. Don't think! Just feel! And let's all enjoy ourselves!**

Dean scoffed, ripped the paper off the wall, and wadded it up before shoving it in his pocket.

 _“Hmm...”_ Maizono appeared to be thinking, her smile gone for the moment. _“...yeah. You're right. Guess I'll be an Ultimate Assistant, then.”_ The smile was back, along with a determined gleam in her eyes.

_“Huh?”_

_“I'm your assistant.”_ She grabbed his hands with her own. _“Let's do our best to get out of here!”_

After taking a few seconds to recover from Naegi's thoughts and her actions, Dean nodded. _“Yeah.”_

**//**

Maizono & Dean went into the dining hall close to when the rules said it was nighttime (after Dean found out that his and the others dorms were in the “Despair Hotel”), where Sam, Aline, and the others were sitting at a long table. Aline was sitting between Kuwata and Owada (he had his feet on the table), her back towards him but she looked stiff like she wanted to turn around and check on him. Sam, on the other hand, was sitting one chair away from Fujisaki, gloved hands clenched into fists.

 _“Are you all right, Naegi?”_ Asahina asked.

Dean could tell both Sam and Aline wanted to ask that question as well, but he knew they weren't able to.

[ Aline knew it would be out of character for her, as Junko, to check on him, as Naegi. Especially since they only met each other that day. ]

 _“Yeah, thanks,”_ he stated as he sat down next to Owada, causing both his brother and Aline to relax in their seats.

 _“My bad, Naegi,”_ Owada said, purple eyes looking his way.

_“I-It's okay, Owada. I mean, given the nature of this situation, it's only natural that we'd be on edge.”_

_“Everyone's here now,”_ Celestia said, twirling her hair with her finger. _“We can safely assume that no one would commit a murder in front of all these people.”_

Ishimaru stood up, hands flat on the table. He was sitting one chair space away from Dean. _“Let's get started then,”_ he said enthusiastically. _“I declare open the first regular meeting of Hope's Peak Academy! Let's exchange the results of our investigation and see what we've all come up with!”_

 _“I tried destroying the entrance, but that ain't happenin',”_ Owada said. _“The thing's hard as steel!”_

 _“Of course,”_ Celestia pointed out. _“It_ is _made of steel.”_

 _“We found a staircase to the second floor in one of the hallways,”_ Ogami stated.

 _“But there was a shutter blocking our way,”_ Asahina added.

 _“So, at this point in time,”_ Sam said, _“we can only check out the first floor of this building.”_

 _“The rooms in the dorm area were pretty comfortable!”_ Yamada pointed out. _“—so long as you can ignore all the surveillance cameras and the steel plates, that is.”_

So it wasn't just his room, Dean realized. Those steel plates and cameras were probably everywhere, which meant that someone was watching them.

 _“The fridge was full of food,”_ Fujisaki said. _“That's one less thing to worry about.”_

_“But who knows how long that's gonna last, what with there being fifteen of us.”_

_“No need to worry about that. Monokuma was telling me how the fridge is refilled daily.”_

_“Huh?”_ Kuwata and Aline questioned in unison as the programmer smiled.

 _“You met him?”_ Aline asked.

_“Yeah. He suddenly showed up when I was checking the fridge out, and vanished into thin air soon after.”_

Ishimaru cleared his throat. _“Is there anything else to report?”_ he inquired.

 _“We've found neither an exit nor the culprit,”_ Fukawa said, making everyone turn her way. _“Your 'investigations' were all meaningless!”_

 _“Oh?”_ Celestia said in surprise. _“But we did manage to confirm the undeniable fact that we've been trapped in a cage without a door.”_

Fukawa screamed, eyes squeezed shut. _“What are we supposed to do?!”_

 _“You heard what Monokuma said,”_ Togami said. _“If you want to get out of here, then you need to kill someone.”_

To actually come out with it like, to even _mention_ murdering one another to escape the academy in a tone that says you don't care (that you find it _interesting)_ , made Dean's skin crawl. His gut was telling him that no one in that room was capable of murder.

Not one of them.

 _“Cut it out,”_ Aline replied, almost growling. _“It's not funny.”_

 _“There's gotta be something else we can do!”_ Kuwata cried out, clutching his head like it hurt.

 _“Adapt,”_ Celestia suggested, catching everyone's attention.

 _“What?”_ Aline asked, eyes narrowed in a glare at the ebony-haired gambler.

_“We just need to adapt.”_

_“You mean accepting that we'll have to live here?”_

_“It is not the strong or the smart that survive, but the ones who can bring about change.”_ Celestia smiled pleasantly, but Aline still glared at her. _“Do you understand?”_

[ That was the biggest bunch of bull Aline had ever heard. She'd realized it during a second playthrough.

Course, she couldn't call her out on it without giving everything away. (talking about spoilers was practically impossible. Especially if it involved who trapped them in the school.) ]

Everyone, except for Sam and Aline, began muttering to themselves.

Dean, however, was unsure of the idea, or even Celestia herself. She seemed pleasant, but so was Dove Lyon and look what she caused. The thought left him feeling uneasy.

 _“Based on that,”_ Celestia continued, standing up, _“I have a proposal for you all.”_

 _“Huh? A proposal?”_ Owada inquired.

Celestia pulled her e-handbook out of her pocket, showing it to the group. _“The school rules mention something about 'Nighttime.' Let's add a rule of our own here.”_

 _“And what would that rule be?”_ Aline asked incredulously.

_“One banning wandering about during Nighttime. That is all.”_

Fukawa removed her hands from her head and looked over at Celestia. _“Huh?”_ she asked. _“Why?”_

_“Don't you see? Without that rule, we'd have to spend every night cowering in fear. Worrying about whether or not someone will kill us.”_

Fujisaki and Asahina gasped, and the gambler continued.

_“But unlike the school rules, we can't enforce this. It'll depend on whether you all cooperate or not.”_

Aline sighed. _“I see what you mean. But...I think I can agree to that. It's just like the little goth lolita said. Without something like that, we're just gonna self-destruct,”_ she said.

 _“On behalf of all the men here, I agree to comply!”_ Ishimaru stated.

Kuwata paled. _“Hey, you can't just decide to speak for us!”_ he complained.

The gambler, however, covered her mouth daintily. _“So everyone is in agreement?” _ She smiled and locked her hands under her chin. _ “Good. Then, if you will excuse me...” _

_“Huh? Wait, where are you going?”_ Fujisaki questioned.

 _“It is almost nighttime. I want to take a shower before it arrives. So...goodbye.”_ Then, moving with pure elegance, she left the dining hall. Her behavior seemed so natural, Dean couldn't imagine anyone even trying to stop her.

 _“S-So I guess it's pretty obvious where we go from here,”_ Yamada stuttered out, sweat dripping down his face. _“We'll be spending the night, it looks like.”_

 _“Adaptability...,”_ Oogami said thoughtfully.

 _“So, Mr. Chairman...what next? One person already left,”_ Aline pointed out.

Ishimaru looked a bit flustered. _“U-Umm...Well then, what say we call an end to today's meeting!?” _ he said with a clenched fist. _ “Like she said, it's almost nighttime anyway. We can reconvene first thing tomorrow morning!” _

_“Do we really have to stay the night here...?”_ Fujisaki inquired, tears in her eyes.

 _“We don't have a choice,”_ Aline pointed out. _“We can't go for long without getting some sleep.”_

Owada looked down at his feet. _“So we have to just give up...,”_ he said.

 _“That's all f-fine and good for t-today, but what do we d-do tomorrow?”_ Fukawa asked.

 _“Our only option is to split up and look around again, and let everyone know if we find anything,”_ Oogami suggested.

 _“Yeah, okay. Let's do that...!”_ Asahina said, a worried look on her face.

 _“Then we're done for today?”_ Aline asked. _“Good, I'm exhausted...” _ She left, passing by Sam first, then Dean, slipping something into the hands of both brothers.

With heavy movements, everyone headed off to their private rooms. Dean watched Sam look at something that was in his hands before the door shut behind him.

 _“Naegi...,”_ Maizono called, pulling his attention away from his brother. _“Are you ready to call it a day?”_

Dean looked down at his hand, opening it to find a note with his name on it. Deciding he'd open it in his room, he nodded at Maizono. _ “Yeah, let's go.” _

**//**

Dean closed the door behind him and threw Monokuma's note in the trash.

Was this place really where he was gonna stay until he, Sam, and Aline got out of here?

He decided to try opening his bathroom door one more time before reading Aline's note. He walked over to it, placed his hand on the knob, and attempted to open it.

The door only rattled.

 _“It's no use,”_ he said. _“It really is locked.”_

That was when Monokuma showed up and said, _“Bzzt! Wrong! Not locked!”_

Dean almost jumped. _“Holy crap!”_

 _“Jeez, talk about an overreaction. It's like you just saw a ghost or somethin'!”_ He put his paw on his chin and tilted his head to the side. _“Like...some kind of...robot bear...ghost.”_

_“Wh-What are you doing here!?”_

Suddenly, Monokuma threw his paws in the air, his face red with anger. _“Naegi Makoto, this is super duper majorly bad! So bad it's almost magical! Ultra magical awful awful attack!”_ His arms fell to his sides, and he no longer looked angry. _“In point of fact, I acknowledge that the bathroom in your room as a problem with the doorframe!”_

Dean held his hand up. _“Wait, so the reason it won't open isn't because it's locked? The door just...doesn't fit?”_

The bear looked angry again. _“Didn't you see the notice? What, can't you read? The bathrooms in the boys' rooms don't have locks! I mean, a lock on a boy's bathroom is kinda pointless, don't you think?”_ He let out a laugh before he began panting, sweat dripping down the white half of his body. _“Well, it's not that it's pointless I guess. But I'm no expert on the birds and the bees and all that.”_ His expression changed again, a smile with a head tilt. _“Anyway, there's a little trick to opening this particular ill-fitting door. And that's what I'm here to teach you! Okay, ready? So you just gotta turn the doorknob, then lift up while you pull!”_ His head straightened. _“Go ahead, give it a try!”_

 _“Turn the knob, and lift the door while I pull...”_ He did just as the bear suggested, and the door opened without a problem.

Monokuma grinned, covering his mouth with his paws as he let out an _“Upupupu”_ before continuing with, _“See? It opened right up! Isn't that crazy, though? Your door's the only one that doesn't fit quite right!”_ He then began to cackle (the sound gave him chills. It sounded...) _“You're supposed to be the Ultimate Lucky Student, right? But looks like you're not lucky at all!”_ He then stopped laughing. _“Anyways, I suddenly don't feel like being here anymore. Bye!”_ With that, he disappeared just like he came.

 _“H-Hey! Wait!”_ Dean yelled out before cursing under his breath.

_**Ding dong, bing bong.** _

Dean turned his head towards the TV the moment he heard static. That was when he saw Monokuma sitting on a desk chair, holding a wine glass filled with some kind of alcohol (Dean guessed it was one of those box martinis) and head propped up on his free hand. Behind him were a bunch of monitors, showing different rooms Dean didn't recognize.

 _“Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement,”_ he said, his voice coming through the TV speakers. _ “It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite...”_

And the TV shut off.

Once that happened, Dean sat down on his bed and read Aline's note. A few minutes later, he rested his head on his hand, still looking down at the note. Everyone practically promised not to leave their rooms once nighttime hit...

...but that promise was made by Naegi Makoto, Enoshima Junko, and Kirigiri Kyoko. Not Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, and Aline Peverell.

Decision made, Dean stood up, put the note on the table, and, after making sure the coast was clear, left his room.

**//**

The moment he entered the locker room, Dean saw a flash of blond hair before he was engulfed in a hug. He hugged back, knowing full well who it was.

“I'm so glad you're okay,” Aline whispered, tightly clutching his hoodie. It was a stark contrast from the Ultimate Fashionista he'd seen earlier, and, truth be told, he'd missed it. He wasn't sure how long it had been since he saw the real versions of himself, Aline, and his brother, but he did miss it. He gripped her shirt.

“I'm glad you're okay, too, Lin,” he replied with a grin.

Sam grinned as well and cleared his throat, causing the two to break the hug.

“So, where exactly are we?” Sam questioned, looking at Aline.

“We're in _Danganronpa,”_ she replied.

 _“Danganronpa?_ What the hell's that?” Dean asked.

“Murder mystery visual novel. Teenagers trapped someplace and forced to kill each other to escape. In this case, Hope's Peak Academy. Features hope, despair, and all that jazz. The version we're in is apparently a combination of the anime and the game.”

“Wait, this was made into an anime?”

“The one we're trapped in, _Trigger Happy Havoc,_ was. Thirteen episodes and a few things were cut from it. There was another anime, _Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy._ That one was split between two different timelines in the _Danganronpa_ verse: one takes place a while after this game, and the other takes place before this. Those arcs are called 'Future' and 'Despair.' There was also a third just to finish off the Hope's Peak Academy saga, called 'Hope.'”

“Pretty creative titles.” Dean's voice was sarcastic, making Aline cross her arms over her chest.

“I happen to _like_ this series, you know. I've played this game. All three in fact.”

“So you know what's gonna happen then?” Sam asked.

Aline bit her lip and nodded.

“Tell us then,” Dean stated. “How do we get everyone out of here? Who locked them in the school?”

She opened and closed her mouth a few times before she replied, with a sad expression, “I can't tell you that.”

Dean sat down on a bench. “What do you mean you can't?”

“I literally _can't!”_

“Can't or _won't?”_

Aline clenched her jaw and said, “I've tried to say what's gonna happen. And, dear god, I've tried, Dean. Even when I was alone in my room before the Monokuma announcement. _But I can't say it.”_

“Try it now.”

She sighed and opened her mouth, shoving her hands in her pockets. Her lips moved, but no words came out.

[ Aline knew what she was trying to say, the words were in her head, but they wouldn't come out. Her fingers subconsciously brushed against the note in her pocket. ]

She closed her mouth while Dean and Sam dropped their jaws, and she made an expression that meant _“see what I mean?”_

While they recovered, Aline shrugged and said, “I guess the only thing I _can_ say is, be careful, Dean. You too, Sammy.” She turned toward the door. “See you tomorrow.” Then she left, leaving them to think about what she said.

Dean and Sam said goodnight to each other and went back to their rooms.

[ Once her door was shut, Aline listened for the boys' footsteps and slid down her door once she heard theirs shut.

She pulled the note out of her pocket. She'd found it when she awoke in that classroom before, luckily, meeting up with Sam and heading to the gym.

That note was one of the reasons why, even if she could tell the brothers what was going to happen, she wouldn't tell them. She'd take it to the grave if she had to.

And there was no doubt in her mind that she would.

Unwillingly, she found herself reading it for the who-knows-what-number time:

 

> **Aline,**
> 
> **You and I both know you know what's going to happen. Since both you and the Winchesters are in _Danganronpa_ (it wasn't my intention, but you three all found out what I am, or, in this case, _was),_ I've placed one final spell on you even as you pulled the trigger.**
> 
> **However, the spell only effects you while you're in _Danganronpa._ I won't mention the exact wording of it, but, to put it bluntly, you cannot say what's going to happen in this killing game. Meaning: who dies, who kills who, who lives, who survives, the executions, and, of course, the mastermind. Even if you're all alone you won't be able to talk about it!**
> 
> **Isn't it _brilliant?_**
> 
> **Yet if the spell doesn't work (but I believe it will), one word of what happens is mentioned to either of the Winchester brothers, everything that makes them the Winchesters will be gone for good.**
> 
> **In case you didn't catch my meaning (and I would hope that you did): the Winchesters will die. They will be deleted from the game and never return to the real world.**
> 
> **They really will be Naegi Makoto and Kirigiri Kyoko.**
> 
> **Kisses,**
> 
> **Dove**
> 
> **(P.S. You really surprised me with your choices. I thought you would've picked Owada for the older brother and Ishimaru for the younger.)**

Once again, she crumpled up the note and shoved it in her pocket, running her fingers through her hair (it wasn't even hers, she reminded herself). Even in death, the witch bitch had gotten the last laugh.

She stood up, walked into the bathroom, and stared at the sink. There were a bunch of make-up products on it (and a container of make-up wipes) along with a certain other object. She placed something on the object, cleaned off her make-up with a few of the wipes, and went to bed. ]

**//**

Just like they planned, they all looked for an exit the next day.

And the day after that.

Time just mercilessly passed them by.

Dean, Sam, and Aline met in the locker room every night after the Monokuma announcement just to talk about what they found among themselves.

Which was summed up by the following three words:

Zip.

Zero.

Zilch.

 _“Aww, man!”_ Kuwata said on the third day, rubbing his head. _“We're not gonna find any clues just by looking in the same places over and over!”_

 _“Yeah,”_ Hagakure agreed.

They were all back in the dining hall, sitting at the same table in the same places as the first day.

Everyone let out a sigh.

 _“Are we going to be trapped in here forever?”_ Fujisaki asked, eyes filling with tears. _“Is nobody gonna come and help?”_

Asahina put her hand on her back. _“It's all right, Fujisaki,”_ she reassured. _“I mean, it won't be long now until we get rescued!”_

Out of the corner of his eye, Dean saw Aline clench her fist so tight her knuckles turned white, yet she kept them crossed over her chest. Another thing that had happened during the trio's locker room meetings was Dean trying to coax answers out of Aline, which sometimes made her stiffen whenever they passed by each other while searching for the exit.

Which happened more times than he could count the past two days.

 _“What? Rescued?”_ Fukawa questioned.

 _“Really?”_ Aline added with a raised brow, catching the brunette's attention.

 _“It's been three days since we got locked up in here, you know. The cops have got to be doing something!”_ she pointed out.

That was answered with a laugh from Sam and Ishimaru's end of the table, making ten students stand up with shocked and fearful expressions. (the only ones that didn't stand up were Sam, Celestia, and Togami. Fukawa was already standing up.)

_It was Monokuma._

_“The cops?”_ the bear asked. _“You're relying on the_ cops?” His expression turned serious. _“You know, if you wanna leave that badly, then just go ahead and kill someone!”_ He sighed and crossed his arms. _“I have to say that for an entitled generation, you guys sure have some balls.”_ Monokuma uncrossed his arms and began to doodle on the table. _“Don't you think that's a bit boring, though?”_

Dean suddenly felt brave. _“It doesn't matter how much you try to provoke us. We are not gonna kill—”_ he began to say, but Monokuma cut him off.

 _“Now I get it. And here I was wondering why nobody had committed a murder, despite having provided a location, characters, and setting right out of a mystery novel.”_ He held his arms out. _“But now I know that there was something missing!”_

 _Naegi and his big mouth,_ Dean thought.

 _“Missing?”_ Kuwata asked. _“Like what?”_

 _“Basically, a motive. On that note, I've left a gift for you in the AV room.”_ The bear chuckled.

 _“The AV room?”_ Dean questioned, a chill running down his spine.

Minutes later, every single student was in the computer/AV room.

Each standing in front of a computer, a pair of headphones plugged into it.

Each holding a DVD with their name on it.

Dean was standing next to Maizono. They looked at each other, and Dean nodded. His heart was pounding in his chest as he inserted the DVD and put on the headphones. Monokuma's face spun around with the words **“NOW LOADING.”**

Once it had finished loading, a trio of people appeared, sitting on a couch in what appeared to be a living room. The youngest of the trio, a girl, looked a few years younger than Naegi, with short, dark brown hair and desaturated green eyes. She was wearing a white button-up shirt, a brown blazer, a brown skirt, and a red ribbon. The man in the middle had dark hair with a bit of an ahoge and was wearing a black suit jacket, a white polo, and khakis. The woman on the end had hair the same color as the girl's, and washed-out hazel eyes like Naegi, and she was wearing a white long-sleeved dress.

_Mom. Dad. Komaru._

His eyes widened. This was Naegi's family.

 _ **“Makoto,”** _ Naegi's mom began, a proud smile on her face, _**“your being selected by Hope's Peak Academy is like a dream come true! Do your best.”**_

Dean felt himself smile. It was like he was seeing his own mother.

 _ **“I am proud of you, son!”**_ Naegi's dad exclaimed, an equally proud smile on his face. **_“Oh, but don't push yourself.”_ **

_**“Are you watching, big brother?”**_ Komaru asked with a smile and a wave. **_“Break a leg!”_ **

The video cut off with static, making his smile immediately fade.

Two images flashed quickly on screen before settling on a recording of a wrecked living room.

_Where Naegi's parents and sister had been earlier._

The couch was slashed, white stuffing coming out of the cuts. One of the cushions was crooked, and the window was smashed.

A close-up image of Monokuma's face appeared on the screen, and Monokuma's voice said, [_**“Naegi Makoto, accepted into Hope's Peak Academy. And his family, who supported such a lucky boy... But it seems like...something's happened to this family's well-being! Oh boy, this is bad! What could have happened to this family's well-being!?”** _](https://clyp.it/dc52xtrg)

Then, the following words appeared on screen

_**Look for the answer  
after graduation!** _

Dean's eyes widened, his heart dropping to his stomach. Sweat poured down his face, falling underneath his shirt.

 _“Why?”_ he asked, grabbing the headphones. _“I've gotta get out of here...”_ He took them off and tightly shut his eyes, but he still saw that wrecked living room. _“I've gotta get out right now...”_ Those were the only words bouncing around in his head.

_I've gotta get outta here. We've gotta get outta here. Wegottagetouttahere!_

Somehow, he opened his eyes and looked over at Maizono. The idol's face was just as pale as his had been, eyes wide with shock, chest heaving even as she screamed, _“No!”_ and pushed the chair away from the computer and into the wall. She tightly hugged herself, her entire body shaking, and she looked at the floor. _“This can't be! I've gotta get out of here! I've gotta get out right now!”_

Dean stood up, his fear pushed to the back burner. _“Maizono!”_ he called out.

She ignored him, falling to the ground and landing on her behind. Her hand on her head. _“Why did this have to happen? Kill or be killed? I can't take anymore of this!”_

 _“Maizono...”_ His voice had lowered to a whisper. Maizono was so lost in _despair_ and _fear_ that she didn't even see or hear him.

Just then, Monokuma let out an _“Upupupupu,”_ catching everyone's attention. He was in the room he was in for his morning and evening announcements.

Sam stood up, Dean's eyes immediately moving toward him.

 _“Who are you?”_ she asked. (Kirigiri. It was Kirigiri, not his brother) _“What is your reason for doing this? What do you want to make us do?”_

 _“What do I want to make you do?”_ Monokuma stated, his laughter stopped. _“Well, I want to...”_ He leaned into the camera, letting them all see his _red glowing lightning eye. “...make you all despair. That's all.”_

_“No!”_ Maizono shouted, running out of the room catching Dean's attention.

 _“Maizono!”_ Dean yelled, chasing after her. He caught up to her under the pink lights, grabbing her by the wrist.

 _“No! Let me go!”_ She stopped, trying to pull his hand off her wrist.

 _“We'll be able to leave if we all cooperate!”_ Dean yelled.

_“You're lying!”_

_“Or we might get rescued before that!”_

Maizono glared at him. _“Nobody's coming to help us!”_ She shook her head, her expression wide and fearful.

_“I'll get you out of here for sure. No matter what I have to do! I promise!”_

His statement snapped her out of it, tears filling (and spilling from) her eyes, and she ran into his chest. Tears made his hoodie wet, but he didn't care as she cried out. He looked down at her for a minute before looking up and glaring at the air, feeling determined.

[ Behind him, everyone had the same despair-filled expression on their faces. Aline's arms were crossed over her chest, her despair a mix of what she'd seen on her video and seeing Dean holding Maizono. ]

All around them, Monokuma's laugh echoed.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ## Notes
> 
> \- **“Upupupu”** is Monokuma's Japanese laugh. I like it better than his English one, okay?  
>  \- To differentiate between Kirigiri & Sam:  
> \- when Kirigiri is the one speaking, I use _she._  
>  \- when Sam is the one speaking, I use _he._
> 
> Yep, I included the survivor list. It just didn't fit in the last Danganronpa fics I wrote. I mean, I wasn't writing full chapter fics. They were just highlights of the first three games. It fit better with this one, so I added it.
> 
> ## Cast List
> 
> * Dean Winchester as Naegi Makoto (primary POV for this fic)  
> 
> * Aline Peverell as Enoshima Junko  
> 
> * Sam Winchester as Kirigiri Kyoko
> 
> ## Voice References
> 
> (in order of appearance)   
> 
> 
> * **Bryce Papenbrook** as Naegi Makoto/Dean Winchester  
> 
> *  **Kaiji Tang** as Hagakure Yasuhiro  
> 
> *  **Lucien Dodge** as Yamada Hifumi  
> 
> *  **Sean Chiplock** as Ishimaru Kiyotaka  
> 
> *  **Jamie Marchi** as Enoshima Junko/Aline Peverell  
> 
> *  **Dorothy Elias-Fahn** as Fujisaki Chihiro  
> 
> *  **Marieve Herington** as Celestia Ludenberg  
> 
> *  **Keith Silverstein** as Owada Mondo  
> 
> *  **Grant George** as Kuwata Leon  
> 
> *  **Cassandra Lee Morris** as Asahina Aoi  
> 
> *  **Jessica Gee-George** as Oogami Sakura  
> 
> *  **Amanda Celine Miller** as Fukawa Toko  
> 
> *  **Jason Wishnov** as Togami Byakuya  
> 
> *  **Erika Harlacher** as Kirigiri Kyoko/Sam Winchester  
> 
> *  **Monica Rial** as Maizono Sayaka  
> 
> *  **Brian Beacock** as Monokuma  
> 
> *  **Terri Doty** as Naegi's Mother  
> 
> *  **Mike McFarland** as Naegi's Father  
> 
> *  **Cherami Leigh** as Naegi Komaru
> 
>  
> 
> **  
> **  
> _Names will be added/taken down as the story progresses._  
> 


	3. (Not) Normal Life: Kill and Live

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's all meaningless, we've already begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **28 pages.**
> 
> That's one of the reasons why this took so long. And this is the chapter where I start (mainly) using the in-game dialogue.
> 
> I know it's partially _my_ fault for wanting to include this and that. It's just...I wanted to include everything I could, and it became this massive chapter. I'm not sure how long the next one is gonna be, and that one's going to be all in-game dialogue (For chapters like that, I'll mention in the notes at the top. When that happens, I'm not going to underline the dialogue at all.). I'm also going to be including one mechanic from what's coming up next. I'll go into more detail when I post the next chapter. Because there's a _LOT_ of things I thought about including, but I decided against it. 
> 
> ESPECIALLY since the next chapter is something completely different (if you've played Danganronpa/watched someone play Danganronpa, you know what I mean).
> 
> I also want to mention that there will be no Free Time Events ([click here to learn about those](http://danganronpa.wikia.com/wiki/Free_Time_Events)). We're just going right through the story.
> 
> Also, like at the end of _Welcome to Despair Academy_ , there will be a survivor list. Names will be crossed off with each death (because there _will_ be character death). Another thing I added is there is a different POV.
> 
> The key from before is still the same.
> 
> ## KEY
> 
>  _“This is text from the anime.”_ _This is thoughts._
>
>> **Notes look like this.**
> 
> [ This is a POV change. **  
>  **  
> _So is this._  
>  __And this.__ ]
> 
> This is text from the game. _“So is this.”_  
> 
> 
> **THIS IS THE STUDENT HANDBOOK.**
> 
> **SO IS THIS.** **This is a school** **regulation/rule.**
> 
> **_This is dialogue from a video._ **
> 
> ## Now, onto the despair!!!

 

Dean was back in his room. Neither Sam nor Aline had said a word to him about their motive videos. Then again, Dean hadn't said anything about his (well, Naegi's), but he knew Aline knew without him telling her.

He glared up at the camera before looking between the gold-painted sword and the kit he'd found.

 _“He basically just wants us to use these as weapons,”_ he said aloud, and he looked up at the clock.

_9:31 pm._

_“Guess I'll take a shower.”_ It was something he wanted to do, just to wash away the fear from the motive video. He did that trick Monokuma showed him to open his bathroom door, but, right before he could grab some fresh clothes, his doorbell rang. _“Yes?”_

 _“U-Um, this is Maizono,”_ Maizono stated.

 _“Maizono?”_ He walked to the door and opened it.

Maizono stood there, arms wrapped around herself and sweat dripping down her pale face. _“Naegi... I'm really sorry to come by so late...”_

Minutes later, she was sitting on his bed, her fists clenched between her legs.

 _“Maizono?”_ Dean asked. _“What are you doing out so late?”_ That was when he noticed...her body was trembling. _“I-Is everything okay...?”_

She looked down at the floor. _ “Sorry to bother you, but...something really weird just happened.” _

That startled him, a bead of sweat trickling down his face. _ “Something...weird?” _

_“Just a little while ago, I was laying down in my room...And all of a sudden, my door started rattling and shaking.”_ Her voice sounded like all the air had been squeezed from her lungs. Just hearing her talk made Dean tense up. Her clenched fist moved to her chin. _“It was like someone was trying to force the door open. My door was locked, so they started shaking the door harder and harder. I was so scared I couldn't even move.”_

_ “S-So what happened!?” _

_“After a while, it just...stopped. I let some time go by, then I got up and opened the door to check outside...”_ she paused to look up at him. _ “But there was nobody there.” _ There was something else in her voice that he couldn't identify, but the Naegi part of him ignored it.

Dean thought for a moment. _“Someone tried to force their way into your room...? But...who would do something like that?”_

_“It's not that I'm suspicious of anyone here, but still... it makes me nervous. What if something like that happened in the middle of the night? What would I do then...?”_

Dean smiled as he stuttered out, _“D-Don't worry! No one's allowed to leave their rooms during Nighttime.”_

The blue-haired idol looked up at him, fear in her eyes. _“But that's just a verbal agreement, right? What if someone breaks that rule?”_

Dean's smile fell at that. He couldn't deny that it was a good point, especially since he'd broken that rule with Sam and Aline. What was going to stop someone else from doing the same and killing one of the others? His smile returned as he suggested, _“How about staying in my room tonight, then? That way, you won't have to be scared.”_

_ “What?” _

Dean pulled out his Monopad and showed her the third rule. _“The rules say we're only allowed to go to bed in the dorm rooms. They don't specify_ who _has to sleep in_ which _room.”_

A blush appeared on Maizono's cheeks. _“B-But we'll be all alone in this room together...”_

Dean, realizing what he'd suggested, backed away, his face heating up as he waved his hands stiffly in front of him. _“S-Sorry! I didn't think about that!”_ He rubbed the back of his head. _“No, really! I wasn't thinking of anything dir—”_

 _“No. I'm not really against it either,”_ she paused, looking down at the floor, _“but uh...would you mind swapping rooms with me just for tonight?”_

 _“Swapping rooms?”_ He let his arm fall back to his side. _“S-Sure. If that'll help you relax, then I don't mind. But wouldn't that be problematic in more ways than one?”_

Maizono giggled, the fear in her blue eyes gone and a smile on her face. _“I trust you, Naegi.”_

Dean's face heated up more. _“U-Um...”_ He put his hand behind his head again, grinning. _“Oh, right!”_ He walked over to the bathroom door, Maizono standing up to follow him. _“The door to the bathroom isn't very well-fitted.”_

_“There's a trick to opening it, right?”_

That was when they were cut off by a familiar chime.

_**Ding dong, bing bong.** _

The TV turned on, and Monokuma appeared, sitting on a chair and holding a martini.

_“Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite...”_

Maizono handed Dean her room key as the announcement played behind them.

 _“Don't open the door for anyone,”_ he told her.

 _“I won't open it, even if I know it's you,”_ she responded. _“There'd be no point in swapping rooms otherwise.”_

After saying goodnight, Dean left the room. It felt more like he was saying goodbye instead of “good night,” but he didn't understand why. But he put that thought on the back burner.

Minutes later, he was standing in front of Maizono's room, looking around, his face flushed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aline leaving her room and running off somewhere. Part of him wanted to follow her, but instead he unlocked Maizono's door and entered the room, putting Aline's actions on the back burner with his feelings from seconds before.

_“This is Maizono's room. It doesn't look much different from mine.”_

He sat down on the bed.

_“I'm kinda nervous.”_

Images of Maizono's crying face after watching the motive videos flashed before his eyes, along with her face back when they'd talked in his room. He looked down at his lap.

“ _I've gotta act as her emotional support.”_

[ _**Meanwhile, Maizono was in Naegi's room, sitting at the desk. She was staring at nothing, eyes narrowed in a glare.**_ ]

[ Aline walked out of her room not too long after the Monokuma announcement started. She felt like she needed to _breathe._ There was no way she could do that in Enoshima's room. That note that Lyon wrote for her was practically _mocking her._

_you can't tell them. youcanttellthem._

The locker room was the only place she could think of, which was where she was headed. She saw Dean out of the corner of her eye, standing in front of Maizono's room.

She didn't focus on that for too long, instead practically _running_ to the locker room. Once inside, she sat down in front of the lockers (she immediately knew which one she was sitting in front of, but she didn't stand up to find another spot). She ran her fingers through her bangs, images flashing in her mind.

_images of what was gonna happen._

Aline couldn't help but wonder, if it was just her trapped here without the boys and Lyon still alive, would she be willingly playing her role?

A familiar looking grin on her face as she breathed her last?

Would that look even be on her face Sam and Dean found her?

That was when she remembered what she'd seen before rushing here...

...and her eyes widened in shock. Her fingers slid into her pocket, where a folded-up note was. It was one that she wrote, meant for the boys' eyes only.

But that was when her mind began to feel fuzzy and her face warm.

( _ **go back to bed. don't think about what's gonna happen. can't do anything about it anyways.**_ )

She calmly stood up and walked back to her room with a smile, unnoticed by the other person in the hallway. She did her nightly routine of removing her make-up and putting an object on top of another.

( _ **it's gonna be beautiful tomorrow, ne?**_ )

Her smile widened as she laid back on the bed and closed her eyes, dreaming of what was to come. ]

**//**

**MONOKUMA THEATER**

****

_ [“Imagine you're all in a big spaceship, in the middle of an intergalactic adventure. You've heard of Noah's Ark, right? We're sort of like that. We've set sail and left Earth behind! Here you don't have to worry about crazy neighbors, corrupt cops, drunk drivers, or pyromaniacs! You don't have to worry about the ozone layer, or asthma-inducing air pollution! And of course, you don't have to stress about studying for finals or practicing for the big game! But... But even our divine world of freedom has a few rules. After all, freedom can only exist *because* of rules. If you're really dead set on returning to that tiny piece of dog poop you call Earth...please do your best to follow the rules. I hope I've made myself perfectly clear. So then, let's everyone do our best to follow these new guidelines and live happily ever after together!”](https://clyp.it/m3kns5ed) _

**//**

_**Ding dong, bing bong.** _

Distantly, Dean heard the monitor click on.

_“Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!”_ Monokuma greeted, his irritating voice waking Dean up.

He opened his eyes to see his hands on top of pink sheets. He was confused for a split-second before he realized where he was. _“Oh,”_ he said as he sat up. _“I slept in Maizono's room last night.”_ He rubbed his head before standing up to stretch, leaving Maizono's room, and heading to the canteen for breakfast. It was another agreement Dean (well, Makoto was really the one that'd agreed to it, but Dean didn't have any objections to it) and the others had made, to have breakfast together every day. If they didn't, they'd all be worried.

If both Aline and Sam were there alone, maybe, Dean told himself, he could ask Aline about her strange behavior from the night before.

However, the only ones that were there were Asahina, Ogami, Fujisaki, and Ishimaru. Asahina was sitting next to Fujisaki at that long table, Ishimaru was at the head of the table, and Ogami was on the opposite end.

 _“Oh, hey, it's Naegi!”_ Asahina stated cheerfully, looking up at him as he yawned. The other three looked his way as well.

 _“Yo!”_ Ishimaru greeted while Dean walked over to the table. _“Morning, Naegi.”_

 _“Morning,”_ Dean replied with a wave. He realized that all four of them would fall under the category of rule-abiding high schoolers, Makoto as well. Dean, on the other hand, wasn't, something he didn't have in common with the Ultimate Luckster.

Then came the somewhat tardier sort of kids: Owada (he sat next to Dean, his legs propped up on the table), Yamada (he sat next to Ogami), and Aline.

 _“Sorry I'm late!”_ Aline said with a grin as she sat next to Owada.

 _“Enoshima Junko,”_ Ogami said, catching Aline's attention.

 _“What?”_ Aline's face was turned away from him, so he couldn't see her expression.

_“I'm sorry, but I find you rather different from what you look like in magazines.”_

The blond laughed before winking. _“Well, of course! It's all photoshopped! You've heard of image editing software, right?”_

Dean's eyes widened, images of the blond's face on magazines flashing before his eyes. There had been no freckles on Enoshima's face.

 _“Goodness gracious!”_ Ogami sounded surprised.

_“Come on, there's nothing surprising about that! You're making me a bit depressed.”_

Lastly came the people who keep others waiting for ages before finally showing up (the category he fit in): Sam, Kuwata, Celestia, Fukawa, and Hagakure.

 _“I_ didn't _oversleep!”_ he claimed as he sat next to Yamada. _“I just got lost, that's all. It's the work of the Bermuda Triangle!”_

Ishimaru stood up and looked at the group of them. _“We're missing some people,”_ he pointed out.

 _“Yeah,”_ Asahina said, _“Maizono and Togami aren't here yet.”_

 _“Huh?”_ Dean questioned, looking around. Sure enough, what Asahina said was correct. Everyone was there except for Maizono and Togami. A small, dark speck of unease rose up inside of him. But then...

_“Togami.”_

The progeny entered the room.

 _“Have ya seen Maizono anywhere?”_ Owada asked.

Togami pulled up a chair at the round table closest to the door, a few inches from where Fukawa was standing. _“Why would you think I've seen her?”_ Togami responded, not even looking their way. _“I came straight here from my room.”_

 _“Maizono Sayaka-dono? Late? How unusual,”_ Yamada stated, his hand rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Asahina slapped her hands on the table. _“Maybe she's sick,”_ she suggested.

Dean, however, was looking at the table, his blood cold in his veins. He could barely hear what was being said after Togami spoke. That small, dark speck of unease started to grow quickly.

She was in his room. _maizonowasinhisroom._

[ Aline looked over at Dean and saw that his skin was pale. It almost killed her to see Dean worried. But the warm feeling from the night before came back, almost pushing that to the back burner.

( _ **it's almost time, ya know.**_ ) ]

 _“What's wrong, Naegicchi?”_ Hagakure asked.

Dean stood up, stuttering out, _“I-I need to go... I have to check on her!” _ before running to the dorms.

_Please let her be okay! Please let her be okay!_

The thought played in his head like a mantra, a prayer, _over_ and _over_ and _over_ again even when he reached his room, the first place he decided to check.

Where he'd let Maizono stay for a single night. Where she was supposed to be safe...

 _“Maizono!”_ he cried out once he reached the door, but it was unlocked, making his blood run cold. _“The door's unlocked...”_

But over the course of that one night...

_...the room had been completely transformed._

There were marks all over the walls, the bed was damaged, the gold-painted sword was out of it's sheath, and the table was tipped over.

_“Wh-What the hell!?”_

He fully entered the room, wide eyes looking at all the damage until he saw the bathroom door. Two large “X” shaped slashes (connected by a single slash) were on the wood, and the door knob was hanging by a single screw. The bathroom was the last place left to look, in his room at least.

He didn't move, his heart clenching.

“Come on, Dean,” he muttered to himself. “It's just a bathroom. Nothing to be worried about. Besides all...the...” He shuddered. “Just...let's take a look inside.”

Swallowing and taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open.

_ Let's... _

_...take...a...look... _

_...in...side... _

_... ... ... _

His eyes widened even further than they'd already had. He'd seen dead bodies before, but that was in morgues and at crime scenes. He hadn't known them. _he hadn't known them!_

It took Dean a second to realize that he was screaming. What he saw dug its way through his eyes and buried itself in his brain. And then...

And then...

_...everything went black. _

**/-deadly life-/**

When he opened his eyes, Dean found himself staring at a huge ceiling. It was a ceiling he remembered seeing before. And when he sat up, he saw someone looking at him. Again, it was someone he'd seen before.

_“Ah! You're awake!”_ Asahina said, clearly relieved. _ “Finally! Are you okay?” _

_“Now's no time for sleeping,”_ Owada stated, his fist clenched and eyes screwed shut. _ “Get your ass up!” _

Dean felt confused. _ “Huh...?” _ he asked.

_“You were unconscious, dude,”_ Hagakure pointed out, his hand running through his dreadlocks. _ “I had to carry you back here.” _ Dean could see sweat beading down his forehead.

_“It's no surprise, considering what happened,”_ Ogami added, confusing Dean even more. He saw Aline out of the corner of his eye. Her face was pale, and her arms were wrapped around her stomach. However, he also saw familiar pink flecks in her eyes.

Dean opened his eyes, feeling the sweat beading on his forehead. _“So it wasn't a dream?”_ he asked. _“What about Maizono?”_

Nobody answered him, the gym as silent as the grave.

 _“Maizono Sayaka's dead,”_ Togami stated.

Dean felt his blood run cold and his heart stop as an image popped into his brain: Maizono dead on the floor of his shower, her blood the same color as the flecks in Aline's eyes. A deep, dark despair worked its way through his body, and then exploded out of him.

 _It's not true. IT'S NOT TRUE!_ Makoto's thoughts screamed as Dean started to run, but Ishimaru grabbed his arm.

 _“Where do you think you're going?!”_ Ishimaru asked him.

There was a part of Dean that wanted to break through Makoto and just tell Ishimaru to _shut the fuck up!_

 _“Where else?!”_ Dean felt desperate, his voice quivering. _“I've gotta... Maizono....”_ He wasn't looking at anyone. He had to get out of there. There was no way he could accept that. _Sh e's not dead. Maizono's not dead! There's no way she is! Togami's lying!!_

_“Hold on! Calm down, Naegi—”_

Dean interrupted him by yanking his arm out of Ishimaru's grip and running toward the door. _“No! I have to—”_

_“Listen to us, man!”_ Owada yelled.  _“Whaddya think's gonna happen if you go out there?”_

_“What's the point in staying here, then?”_ He whirled around, glare aimed directly at Togami. _“What the hell are we all doing in the goddamn gym?!”_

 _“We're not here because we want to be,”_ Sam replied, catching his brother's attention.

_“Why, then?!”_

_“Monokuma, obviously!”_ Fukawa pointed out. _“H-He told us to assemble here in the gym.”_

 _“And of course, we objected to it,”_ Ishimaru added, _“saying, 'What are you talking about? Someone died here!'”_ His hand was clenched into a fist. _“But...”_

 _“I was the one who suggested that we obey him for now,”_ Sam said.

Dean took a step back. _“Kirigiri..” Sam..._

_“We're captives, you know. We need to avoid recklessly opposing the enemy in order to prevent further casualties.”_

He couldn't argue with that, no matter how much he wanted to, but... _“He killed Maizono... Monokuma...”_

 _“Nah, I wouldn't do that,”_ Monokuma interrupted, catching everyone's attention. The robotic bear was standing on top of the podium. _“You can trust me on that.”_ He raised his white paw like he was making a promise.

_“Monokuma?”_

He put his paws on his hips. _“You know, I would_ never _do anything that'd go against the point of this whole exercise. I was famous in the safari park for being_ twice _the stickler for rules compared to the other bears.”_

Everyone moved closer to the podium. Dean, however, wanted to call him out on his BS, but he couldn't do it.

 _“Who was it, then?”_ Fujisaki asked.

[ Aline quickly looked over at the culprit. Thankfully, their focus was on Monokuma. Then again, they probably couldn't tell that she was looking at them anyway.

( _**they're gonna try to fool the others. but it's almost time, isn't it? are you excited, Ally-chan?** _ )

She almost grinned, but she bit her lip to hold it back and looked at Monokuma. ]

Dean saw the pink flecks in Aline's eyes grow the moment she looked away from the bear, teeth sinking into her lower lip. He knew it was her way of hiding the fact that she wanted to smile (it was an expression he'd seen often, especially when she pretended to not like his jokes or when she'd pulled a practical joke on Sam and he didn't notice it yet).

_“Oh, but you already know. Maizono Sayaka was killed by one of you!”_

Nobody had a reply for that. One of them...killed Maizono? But that was stupid. That was...

Monokuma's head tilted to the side. _ “Hmm? What's the matter? You guys all look like you're about to see a dove get shot up with a Gatling gun!” _ He covered his mouth with his paws.  _“Don't you remember what I told you when this all began? One of you decided to kill Maizono so that you could graduate! Someone's just following the rules. There's nothing wrong with that!”_

_“A-Are you serious...?”_ Fujisaki asked, eyes filling with tears.

 _“That can't be...”_ Asahina trailed off.

_“Someone... Someone killed someone!”_ Ishimaru said, taken aback. His face was pale and sweat was pouring down his face.

Celestia, on the other hand, was playing with her hair, clearly calm with the whole situation. _“It is amazing what some people are capable of.”_

 _“You've gotta be kidding me!”_ Dean shouted.

Monokuma's red lightning-bolt eye was glowing. _“Nah, it_ was _one of you who killed her,”_ he affirmed. _“The culprit should be well-aware of it.”_

Without thinking, Dean looked around at everyone. They all had the same look on their faces... Everyone looked at each other with a combination of fear, suspicion and confusion.

 _“Is it true?”_ Fujisaki inquired, eyes filling with tears.

 _“Be honest!”_ Ishimaru stated. _“Which one of you killed Maizono Sayaka?”_

Fukawa scoffed. _“Even if one of us were the culprit, there's no way he'd admit it!”_ she pointed out.

 _“Well, it doesn't matter who it is, really,”_ Celestia said calmly (a little _too_ calmly, at least in Dean's mind).

Yamada raised his hands as if he was surrendering to the police. _“I-It wasn't me!”_ he said with a stutter.

 _“You tryin' to blame me?!”_ Kuwata threw in, making everyone look his way.

 _“Pipe down,”_ Togami said, his arms crossed over his chest. _“You there. Let's say the culprit is among us. He'd be able to graduate from here, yes?”_

Monokuma let out an _“Upupupu”_ before answering, _“That's way too naive! Devilishly naive! Hellishly naive!_ This _is where things get real.”_

 _“'Real'?”_ Dean asked, feeling surprised. How much more real can it get with someone killing a fellow student just to get out of the school?

_“Are you ready!? Allow me to explain the second part of the rule regarding graduation! Just like I explained before, you must kill someone if you want to leave. However...even if you do that, there's still one more part to the agreement you have to uphold, remember?”_

_“You are referring to rule number six of the school regulations...”_ Celestia stated, pulling out her e-Handbook and finding the rule she mentioned. _ “If you are the 'blackened' that committed the murder, you can't be found out by the other students. That is what you are talking about, is it not?” _

_“Bingo! It's not enough to just kill someone. You have to actually get away with it! Which naturally means you need a system in place to assess whether or not it's been gotten away with!”_ Monokuma raised his paws up in the air. _ “So, a certain amount of time after a murder has taken place, a class trial will begin!” _

_“'Class Trial'?”_ Dean asked.

_“ _Y_ up! It'll begin a few hours after the murder! Everyone will gather together, including the blackened who committed the murder. And they and the spotless students will all engage in one big debate showdown! During the trial, you'll have to present your arguemetns about who you think the blackened is. And once everything comes to an end, the outcome will be decided by popular vote! If the answer you've arrived at is correct...only the one that disturbed your peace will be punished. The rest may continue their communal life. However...if you choose poorly...then the one who got away with murder will survive, and the rest of you will receive your punishment. Which of course means your school life will come to an end! As far as class trial rules go...that's all there is to it!”_

_“Um, by the way,”_ Yamada began, _“what do you mean by 'punish'?”_ That was something Dean had been wondering himself.

_ “Oh! Well to put it simply... It's execution!” _

_ “E-Execution!?” _

_“And by execution, you mean...”_ Fujisaki trailed off, tears falling from her eyes.

_“Execution is...execution. Ex-e-cution! Electric chair, bzzt bzzt! Poison gas, cough cough! Torn apart like a paper place in a hurricane!”_

Everyone (but Togami, Celestia, and Sam) was shocked by the Class Trial stipulation, Dean included. Out of the corner of his eye, Dean saw that Aline's eyes were narrowed in a glare, fists clenched so tight that her arms were shaking. She was reaching her breaking point, he could tell.

_Live if you're right. Die if you're wrong._

_“Y-You mean we'll all be executed if we get the culprit wrong?”_ Ishimaru asked, his voice was shaking.

If a stuffed bear could smirk, this one definitely would. _ “What a smart little chimpanzee you are! Look at you, implying you didn't do it without actually saying it! So it's basically what the outside world calls a "lay judge" system, or an inquisition type thing! Which means you'll be deciding who you think the killer is. But judge carefully, because all your lives are on the line! Okay, let me just add the rule I just described into your handbook. Make sure to keep it in mind!” _

Multiple _**dings**_ rang through the gym, letting them know that the rule was now in the handbook.

 _“W-Wait, hold on a second!”_ Aline yelled, her breaking point apparently reached. Her eyes were narrowed in a glare that was aimed directly at Monokuma. _“You're freaking insane, you know that!?” _ Everyone stared at her.

The robotic bear tilted his head. _“Hmm?”_

_“The hell are you talking about? Class Trials?” Aline's fists were clenched at her sides. “I don't wanna take part in that crap!”_

_“Why not?”_

She looked taken aback for a second before her glare returned in full force. _“Whaddya mean why not!? Why do I have to waste my time trying to figure out who murdered someone!?”_

 _“What!?”_ Monokuma shouted, the white half of his face red with anger. _“Are you saying you're not gonna participate in the trial!? Only punishment awaits such blasphemy!”_

Dean wanted to _stop_ her, do _something,_ but his body wouldn't move except to take a step forward and get a better look at Aline, his mouth wouldn't open.

Aline began sweating. _“What? Punishment?”_

_ “I might...I dunno, throw you in a deep, dark scary prison or something!” _

She clenched her teeth, glare coming back harder than before. _“Shut the hell up! Say whatever you want, I'm not gonna be part of this!”_

_ “Don't be so selfish!” _

_ “You're the one being selfish! Kill whoever you want, it's got nothing to do with me!” _

Monokuma began panting. _“The evil standing before me... I'm trembling with fear...!”_ His expression changed to one of anger, his claws out. _“But I won't give in to such evil! It's my style to stick it out and resist till the very end...! If you really wanna get out of here...”_ he raised his paws up in the air, _“You'll have to go through me first!”_

As he said that, he came charging at them. Although it was more of a waddle...but then...

_ **SMASH!** _

Aline had stomped her foot on Monokuma's face, knocking him to the floor.

_“Gyumeh!”_ Monokuma grunted.

_“Are you enjoying yourself now?”_ Aline inquired mockingly, glaring down at the bear.

_ “Are you?” _

_ “Huh?” _

_ “Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is not allowed. You've violated a school regulation... I invoke the mighty spell! Help! To me, godly spear Gungnir!” _

Before Dean could even blink or react, spears shot out from the gym floor and impaled Aline, coming out covered in pink blood.

[ Being a hunter should mean that Aline was used to seeing blood. Especially since she'd be covered in it ninety percent of the time after a vampire hunt.

_But this?_

Being reminded of a death she could never watch without shedding some tears?

Seeing the spears of Gungnir coming out of _her_ body? (it wasn't her body. She knew who it _really_ belonged to.)

She looked down at her body. Blood seeped onto her clothes from the stab wounds.

 _Pink_ blood.

She remembered joking with Matt and the others about the color of it during her audition, but seeing it... _seeing it was a completely different story._ ]

“ _Huh?”_ she stuttered out. _“This is weird... Why am I...”_

[ A million thoughts ran through her brain. _They belonged to Junko._

( _this wasn't...supposed to... why...me...?_ )

 _Does this mean...it's over for me?_ she found herself wondering. _The actual end of me?_ ]

Blood dripped from her mouth, and her eyes shot wide open. The spears were violently ripped from her.

[ A gasp escaped her lips. _I guess...it is... I'm sorry, boys..._ ]

She let out one last gasp before falling to the floor, and Dean, finally being able to move, ran towards her and caught her before she hit the floor.Fortunately, no one questioned his move, letting him believe that they didn't see when he moved on his own.

“Hey, come on. You're not dying that easily, are ya?” he coaxed, causing her to open her eyes. There was no trace of pink to be found, only blue.

“D-Dean...I'm...” Aline started, her voice barely there.

“Enough of that, okay? You, me, and Sammy are gonna get outta here, okay? So that means no dyin' on me, Peverell.”

She grinned a small, pain-filled grin before moving to reach into her pocket and grimacing.

“Don't worry about that. Whatever it is can wait until we blow this popsicle stand.”

She shook her head. “It's really important to me, D. I'm not gonna make it outta here.”

“Not with that kinda talk you ain't.”

Ignoring that, she reached into her pocket again and pulled out two folded pieces of paper. One looked like it had been read half-a-dozen times or more. The other looked newer, more recent. Both, however, had pink splotches. She pointed to the first one.

“Th-That one...explains why I couldn't tell you about what's gonna happen. Th-The...other...one...is one you have to open when I'm....gone...”

“I thought we already talked about this. You ain't goin' nowhere. We're getting outta here, and you're gonna drag us to that thing you've been so excited about.”

She grinned before closing her eyes, and just like that...she never moved again.

Dean held her tightly to his body before he found himself letting go of her, standing up, and going back to where he'd originally been standing.

 _“Blood,”_ Fukawa said before passing out.

_“Wh-What the...”_ Asahina asked.

_“I don't...”_ Fujisaki trailed off, voice clouded by tears.

_“Th-This can't be real,”_ Kuwata stuttered.

_“ _N_ O WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!”_ Yamada yelled.

Monokuma, however, just stood up, his expression giving away his anger. _ “Now I am painfully aware of the great power and meaning of a promise... I really wanted to keep a corpse from popping up for no good reason, ya know?” _ he stated before grinning.  _“But I guess you all needed to be taught a lesson, after all. Ahh, what an amazing promise! But now you guys understand, right?”_ His grin disappeared and his lightning-bolt eye flashed threateningly. _ “No you see just how serious I am... Defy me and you get shot full of holes, exploded, buried alive, disintegrated...et cetera. So if you don't want that to happen to you, you'd best obey those school regulations!” _

Aline's body had been impaled with a bunch of spears... An unbelievable amount of blood started pouring out of her body. Dean knew that it was the first time Naegi'd ever seen...the moment someone's life came to an end. Nobody there could deny what they'd seen. Enoshima (Aline, Dean told himself. _It's Aline, not Enoshima._ ), who until just a second ago had been their friend...was dead. She'd died. She'd been murdered. In simple terms...it was the death of a human being.

Monokuma's expression changed to one of almost glee. _ “It's really not all that shocking. She just died, that's all. Just went and died. It's no more remarkable than the inevitable demise of the entire human race. It's just as natural as the eventual end of the world itself. This isn't some suphero comic. So it's not like when you die, you didn't really die. This is reality!” _

Sam chose this moment to finally speak for the first time since before Monokuma appeared. _“...Why did you have to kill her?”_ she asked. _“Didn't you say you would put her in prison or something?”_

Monokuma turned away. _“I changed my mind.”_

_“No, you've been want to kill this entire time.”_

He turned around, looking curious. _“Kill this entire time...? Don't be silly, you can't kill time! Or are you being metaphorical? Are you saying I wanted to waste time this whole time?”_ Suddenly, he was angry. _“Come on, what do you take me for? I'm Monokuma!”_ He was back to being calm again. _“Anyways, none of that matters right now. I have something I'd like to give you to help you in your search for the blackened!”_ He took out a tri-colored file (black, grey, and orange) with a grey number “1” in the upper left corner, Monokuma's face in the lower right corner, and the words “Monokuma File” in a lighter grey on the side of the file. _“This little file has all the information I've gathered about the death in question. I like to call it... The Monokuma File! I mean, naturally you guys aren't experts at this kind of thing, so you can only do so much with a corpse. So instead, I've gathered everything I know about the circumstances and cause of death. What's that? How do I know the cause of death, you ask? Cuz the surveillance cameras picked up the whole thing! I got to see it all go down!”_

_ “Wait, so then...you know who killed Maizono?” _

_ “Of course I do! If I didn't, I couldn't possibly pass a fair and accurate judgment during the trial, now could I?” _

_ “That's a good point. The judge has to be able to make the proper decision. That's...somehow comforting.” _

_“Now then, please put your full effort behind your investigation! After all, you don't have any choice but to give it your best shot! Seriously, you dont' have a choice! Okay, so we'll meet up for the class trial...in a little while!”_

And with that, Monokuma disappeared once again. He left them all, even Dean, stunned and confused... He left them at a total loss. He left them with Aline's dead body growing colder right in front of them.

 _“'A lesson'?”_ Dean inquired, shocked. _“Just for that?”_

 _“At the very least, this means Enoshima Junko isn't the culprit,”_ Togami pointed out.

 _“Let's begin our investigation right away,”_ Celestia stated. _“We can't let the dead drag us down forever.”_

 _“How could you say th—”_ Dean began to ask, but the gambler cut him off.

 _“I believe I told you all before. No matter who the enemy may be, those who can't adapt will be the first to die.”_ She locked her hands together, putting them under her chin as she smiled. _“They reaped what they sowed.”_

 _“But that's way too cruel!”_ Asahina cried out.

 _“We should first figure out who the culprit is,”_ Sam stated, causing everyone to look at her. _“If we don't, we'll all be executed.”_

Dean couldn't help but agree to that. They had to figure out who killed Maizono. He looked back at Aline's body, papers clenched tightly in his pocket, until Hagakure's voice caught his attention.

 _“Wh-What the heck?”_ the fortune teller stuttered out, his e-handbook in his hand. _“There's an extra tab in this thing now!”_

 _“Huh?”_ Owada inquired, hand on his hip. _“Now ain't the time for that!”_

Dean took out his own handbook and, sure enough, there was another tab labelled “Monokuma File.”

 _“Monokuma File...”_ Ishimaru stated.

Dean took the time to read it. There was a picture of Maizono's face with a bloody pink “X” over it.

**HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY**

**ELECTRONIC STUDENT HANDBOOK**

**MONOKUMA FILE**

**The victim is Maizono Sayaka. The time of death is estimated to be around 1:30 am. The body was discovered in Naegi's room, in the dormitory. All evidence suggests that the death took place in the bathroom. The cause of death was a stab wound to the abdomen. There was also an injury to her right wrist. Specifically, the wrist appears to have suffered a fracture.**

_** “Monokuma File #1” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. ** _

“What the hell?” Dean muttered before noticing that there was a new icon underneath the map, two bullets. He tapped it.

**HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY**

**ELECTRONIC STUDENT HANDBOOK**

**Truth Bullets**

**No.** ** 01/?? **

**Monokuma File #1**

_“Whoa!”_ Yamada exclaimed in shock. _“This thing has the cause of Maizono Sayaka-dono's death noted down in great detail!”_

 _“Take a look at where Maizono Sayaka died,”_ Celestia stated. _“Naegi Makoto's room.”_

That was when Dean felt everyone's eyes on him, and he heard himself gasp. He had a feeling that everyone was going to suspect him when they found out where Maizono had been killed, but it still took him by surprise. Everyone had only known each other for days, which made it easier to suspect each other.

 _“Hey, Naegi!”_ Owada said, catching his attention. _“You wanna explain this to us?!”_

Dean turned to face him, hands out. His heart was pounding in his chest. _“Hang on! You're wrong!”_ he exclaimed.

 _“And how are we wrong?”_ Togami inquired. The heir's hands were in his pockets as he stared at Dean.

Dean turned to face him. _“I swapped rooms with Maizono for just one night. I did it because she was scared.”_ The image of the blue-haired idol's frightened expression flashed before his eyes.

 _“You swapped rooms?”_ Owada said indignantly.

 _“That sounds so fake,”_ Kuwata stated, making Dean look his way.

 _“You all think I did it?”_ Dean asked as he looked at his classmates, sweat drops falling down his cheek. _I didn't do it!_ he wanted to yell, but he knew that was something almost every murderer ever had said before being convicted.

 _“Yeah,”_ Togami said. _“Why wouldn't we suspect you? If you want us to believe you, you'll need to give us some proof.”_

_“But...”_

_“Let's get this game started.”_ Togami, Celestia, and Sam walked away to begin their investigations.

_“Togami!”_

_“Good luck,”_ Sam said as she passed him by and exited the gym.

“Sammy...”

 _“We need to start our investigation too,”_ Ishimaru pointed out as Owada covered Aline's body with his jacket. Ishimaru, Kuwata, and Owada left the gym as well.

 _“Ishimaru!”_ Dean was beginning to feel desperate. He didn't do it. He didn't kill Maizono. Sure, Dean Winchester had killed monsters, but Naegi Makoto never killed anyone in his life. _I didn't do it,_ he thought. _Maizono and I know that for a fact! I've gotta do something._

With that, he left the gym and headed to the scene of the crime.

**/-deadly life-/**

[ _It felt like she was floating. Floating in an endless darkness._

_She didn't feel the pain from the spears. Or the cold pink blood._

Was this death?

_She couldn't tell. She never asked the boys what dying felt like. There was never a chance to._

_Suddenly, she heard a voice say,_ “You think you're dying? I'm not finished with you yet. You haven't reached _k_ _yūkyoku no zetsubō_ yet.”

 _That phrase caused something to_ **snap** _in her brain. The voice was right. She hadn't reached it yet. Sure, she may have seen it happen to Enoshima, but she herself had not reached it, yet. This was_ **b o r i n g.**

_Aline felt herself sitting down on a chair, and her eyes opened. The abyss was gone, but she didn't remember it. There were dozens of screens in front of her all showing different parts of the school, Monokuma powered down beside her. She could see Asahina in the dining hall, Owada, Ogami, and Sam in Dean's room, Hagakure and Fujisaki in the gym, and Dean walking in the hallway headed toward his room. His hands were in his pockets, probably touching the notes she'd given him._

_On one of the screens, she could see a familiar person staring back at her, pink flecks in her eyes._

_And she smirked, letting out an “Upupupu”._ ]

**/-deadly life-/**

His room was still a mess. Nothing had been disturbed, from what he noticed. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Owada and Ogami guarding the bathroom (maybe it had been Ishimaru's idea to prevent the killer from destroying evidence. Dean hated to think of the possibility that it was Togami's idea). The first thing he took notice of was the lint roller laying on the floor next to his bed.

 _It looks like there's way less than there was before, _ he thought to himself. _ Did Maizono see how dirty my room was and decide to clean up a little...? _ He hadn't used it himself, which made that the only possible conclusion he could think of.

The next thing he noticed was the replica sword. Before, it had been sitting on the desk from the moment he first woke up in here. Now, however, it was on the floor not too far away from the lint roller.

 _ Does this mean it was used in the attack somehow?  _ he wondered before noticing that it had been taken out of its sheath. “It's covered in gold, too,” Dean muttered. “Shouldn't be _too_ surprising. _ On top of that...”  _

Some of the gold coating had come off of parts of the blade and the handle, confirming his suspicions. He put his fingertips on it before pulling away, noticing that the coating stuck to his fingers even though he just touched it a little bit.

_** “Replica Sword” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. ** _

Dean couldn't help but wonder what the Truth Bullets would be for. Maybe the class trial? He didn't know. But the sight of the key on the ground pushed that thought to the back of his mind. It had Naegi's name on it, confirming it to be the key to this room.

He and Maizono had switched rooms and gave each other their room keys. _ So Maizono would have had the key here in my room the entire time, _ he thought to himself.

If that was true... _how did the killer get into the room in the first place?_

She couldn't have forgotten to lock the door. The idea was impossible.

**{ _“Don't open the door for anyone,”_ he told her. **

_**“I won't open it, even if I know it's you,”** _ **she responded.** _**“There'd be no point in swapping rooms otherwise.” }** _

_“Well,”_ he said aloud, _“Maybe she dropped the key somewhere, and someone else grabbed it or something.”_

That idea wasn't possible either. Maizono was in that room when they swapped. There was no way she would've gone walking around with how scared she was. Her dropping it was out of the question.

_** “Switching Rooms” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. ** _

He shook himself out of it and walked over to the scratches on the floor. They were on the walls and his bed. It looked like there had been some kind of fight in his room.

_“Dammit!”_ Dean cursed. _ “I was right there in the other room! If only I'd heard something!” _

_“That would not have been possible,”_ Ogami pointed out, hearing his cry of disappointment.

_ “Huh?” _

_“Don't you remember? All of our rooms are completely soundproof. So something could happen in the room right next to you, and there's no way you could know.”_ Ogami closed her eyes thoughtfully. _ “Perhaps this was another of Monokuma's strategies, creating an ideal setting for murder.” _

Dean said nothing, staring at the scratch on the wall beside her. He _did_ remember that both she and Asahina had said that during their first investigation of the school, but he couldn't help but hope to at least have heard _something._

_** “Evidence of a Struggle” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. ** _

Now, he decided he'd look at the sheath. A closer look revealed scratches on it. Probably had been made with something sharp.

_“But how'd the sheath get scratched up in the first place?”_ he wondered.

Even if the sword had been used during the struggle, it didn't make sense for the sheath to be damaged. Dean had used a sword that time Sam, Aline, and he'd LARPed with Charlie, and he'd unsheathed it before even using it in a fight. Especially since the sheath could just slide off in the middle of the fight.

_** “Replica Sword Sheath” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. ** _

The next thing he did was open the drawer containing his toolkit, still unused.

_“Which makes sense, I guess,”_ he muttered. _ “I mean, it's mine, and I haven't had any reason to open it. I can't even imagine a situation where I'd need a toolkit like this.” _

_“Yeah, seriously!”_ Owada exclaimed. His hand was rubbing the back of his neck.

_ “Oh, Owada...” _

_ “We ain't exactly in the mood to be buildin' fuckin' furniture, right?” _

_ “So you haven't used yours either, then?” _

Owada moved his hand to his side. _ “Not just me. Nobody's busted theirs out yet, far as I know. Actually, we were talkin' about it yesterday. None of the guys have opened their toolkits yet. Cuz like, why the hell would we?” _

_** “Toolkit” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. ** _

_“Ya know,”_ Owada continued, _ “I realized something while I was on guard duty. The killer could've already destroyed some evidence, right? Before anyone found the body, I mean. There's a trash room here in the dorms, right? They coulda tossed some stuff in there.” _

_ “Y-Yeah, that's definitely possible.” _

Owada tightly clenched his fists, eyes narrowed in a glare. _“That dirty bastard! Anyone who raises their hand to a woman is scum that deserves death. That's what my brother taught me.”_ He punched his hand, knuckles white with rage. _“So if I ever find the son of a bitch that did this, I'm gonna pound his goddamn face in.”_

_ “B-But what if it was a girl that did it?” _

Owada's hands fell to his sides and his glare lessened slightly. Then he looked away, sneering. _“That'll all get sorted out when the time comes.”_

That was when Dean noticed his brother investigating the area.

_“Hey, Kirigiri...”_ Dean quietly called. “Sam...”

But his brother was ignoring him, clearly focused on brushing her gloved pointer finger on the ground.

_“What are you doing?”_ Dean could feel Naegi's confusion at lavender-haired girl's actions.

_ “Isn't it obvious?” _

_ “N-No, not really.” _

_ “I'm searching.” _

_ “Searching?” _

Sam was down on her knees, carefully inspecting every inch of the room.

_ “Did you lose a contact or something?” _

Apparently, it was hard to break this girl's concentration when she was focused on investigating. A few seconds later, she suddenly stood up and said, _“Are you a clean freak?”_

Dean blinked. Sam _definitely_ knew the answer to that question, but he'd asked anyway. Of course, the question was asked by Kirigiri and directed at Naegi, but still. _“Huh? N-No, I don't think so. But what...?”_

Sam nodded and glanced around the room one more time.

_ “Interesting... Just as I suspected, there's something very unusual about your room.” _

_ “Unusual? What do you mean?” _

_“I've searched your floor from one corner to another and I didn't find one single strand of hair.”_

_“Really?”_ It wouldn't have been strange to find Naegi's hair in his room (it was _his room,_ after all), but not find any hair at all? That _was_ interesting.

_ “Not one hair from the victim, and not one hair from you, even though you've been living in here.” _

Dean put his hand on his chin thoughtfully. _ “You know, now that you mention it, I noticed something while I was looking around before. It looked like the lint roller in my room had been used, but I never touched it. Could someone have used it to...?” _

Sam tapped her chin. _“Very interesting. Your room didn't have a single hair in it, and someone used your lint roller without your knowledge. In other words, someone other than you came in and scrubbed your room clean.”_

_ “Was it Maizono? Or the killer?” _

Sam crossed her arms. _“That's the question, isn't it?”_

_** “Naegi's Room Cleanliness” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. ** _

There was one last place to investigate before he could leave, and Dean could tell Naegi didn't want to go in there. The image of what he'd seen flashed before his eyes, and he shook his head.

 _ No, _ he thought to himself,  _I can't let it get to me! I can't afford to freeze up now!_

“Dean?” Sam called.

“Yeah?” he replied.

“I know it wasn't you.”

“...How can you tell? How do you know for sure?”

The younger Winchester smiled. “I know you. You wouldn't kill someone without a reason.”

“So, you believe him, then?”

Sam looked down at his boots. “Kirigiri's just trying to look at this objectively, but she doesn't believe that Naegi killed Maizono.”

Dean nodded. Naegi was pushing his panic down as Dean stepped into the bathroom and found himself staring at Maizono's body.  Looking at her made it painfully clear it wasn't a dream, or an illusion. She had lost everything that made her “her.” 

_ “Maizono...” _

He was overcome with dizziness, nausea, and the urge to burst into tears all at once. He wanted to give up, he wanted to collapse. His hand was on the wall, and his knees were shaking.

“No,” Dean muttered. “Listen to me. We have to figure out why she died and who killed her. Everyone's gonna guess that it's us and _everyone's_ gonna die.”

And his knees stopped shaking, his body straightening. He pushed himself off the wall and, still shaky, walked to Maizono's body. He pulled out his e-handbook and tapped on the Monokuma File tab to verify what it said about her body.

_“Some sort of sharp object has been thrust into her stomach. That must've been the killing blow. But whatever they used to kill her, where'd they get it? That's definitely something I should look into later.”_ If he had to guess, it looked like a kitchen knife. Adding the kitchen to the list of places he had to look at, he looked down at the handbook. _ “Also according to the Monokuma File, Maizono's right wrist is broken.” _ Her wrist did look swollen and bloody, but there was something glittery there, too.  _“That definitely concerns me.”_ The next thing that caught his attention was the idol's left index finger. There was blood there, but both of her palms were totally spotless.

_** “Maizono's Wrist” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. ** _

There was no doubt in Dean's mind that the stab wound in her stomach was what killed her, so...how did her wrist get broken after she'd already been killed?

 _It must have happened during the struggle,_ he realized. _ The killer attacked Maizono in the main room, which is when her wrist got broken. After that, the killer cornered her in the bathroom where they inflicted the deadly wound. _

Dean looked past Maizono to the wall behind her. And there he saw...

_ “Wh—!?” _

Written in blood were the numbers “11037.” Had Maizono written that? That was definitely a possibility, but then another possibility was that it was a red herring. He was thinking about that when he left the bathroom and almost bumped into Sam.

_“It looks like you found it, right Naegi?”_ she asked. _ “The bloody numbers... That's most likely Maizono's dying message.” _

_“I've never seen something written in blood before...”_ Dean replied. _ “It really was her final message... It's as if she wrote it with life itself.” _

_ “...Do you often talk like an aspiring poet?” _

_ “But the numbers she wrote, what do they mean? 11037... I have no idea what that could possibly mean.” _

_ “The way she wrote the numbers makes me think she wanted to use her body to block them. If she wrote them in  that location, while she was sitting the way we found her, it means she must have wrote them by turning only her hand toward the wall. If you were to write something in that position, do you know what the result would be?”  _

_ “The result?” _

_ “Think about it.” _

_ “You're not gonna tell me?” _

Sam crossed her arms over her chest. _“You need to uncover the mystery of this case yourself. Otherwise, the case will end and you'll remain unconvinced.”_

It made sense to Dean, but Naegi clearly didn't understand. However, Dean guessed that he could ask Fujisaki what it meant.

**_ “Dying Message” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. _ **

_ “There's one other thing I wanted to ask you about. Do you know how the door to your bathroom got broken?” _

_ “Broken? Oh, you mean how it gets stuck?” _

A shocked look appeared on Sam's face, lavender eyes widening. _“Gets stuck?”_

_“Yeah, I guess I'm the only one, but the door doesn't fit in the frame quite right. When I first tried to use it, I thought it was just locked. But once you learn the trick, it opens no problem.”_

_** “Bathroom Doorframe” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. ** _

The shocked look disappeared, replaced with a calm, collected one. _ “So the door doesn't quite fit the frame, huh? But actually, I'm referring to the broken doorknob.” _

Dean tilted his head to the side in confusion. _“Huh? The doorknob?”_

_ “You didn't notice? Well, just try closing the bathroom door. I'm sure you'll see right away what I'm talking about.” _

He did what Sam said and shut the bathroom door. And, as she'd said, Dean noticed what she was talking about. It was hard not to miss something like that.

_ “Huh?” _

_ The doorknob... _

The knob was only hanging on by one screw.

_“Wh-What the heck!? The doorknob's practically about to fall off! Why is it like this...?”_

_“Someone must have used a screwdriver or something similar to unscrew it. Whatever it was, it's obvious this was intentional.”_

_ “What!? It was intentional? Why would someone want to do that!?” _

_ “I guess maybe they were trying to get the door unlocked and ended up breaking the whole thing.” _

That was when he remembered the note Monokuma had left on the table that he'd thrown out. _ “But my bathroom doesn't have a lock on it. Only the girls' bathrooms can lock, right?” _

Sam stood there for a while, lost in thought. Then, apparently struck with a sudden realization, she shot a question at Dean. _“I have just one more question for you. You mentioned earlier that your bathroom door would get stuck, right? Did you tell anyone else about that?”_

Dean had to think for a minute. _“Oh, umm... Well, I did tell Maizono about it last night, when we switched rooms.”_

 _“So what you're saying is, only you and Maizono knew about it. Hmm... Interesting...”_ There was the slightest hint of a smirk on her face. _“Then that clears that up.”_

_“Huh? What clears what up? I'm so lost...”_

_“Well, see you later.”_ Then, as if forgetting he was ever even there, Sam suddenly turned and left the room.

_** “Bathroom Doorknob” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. ** _

Dean had a mental checklist of where he needed to go to look for clues (it honestly almost felt like an episode of _Scooby-Doo._ Just with less creepy insurance salesmen/janitors and more murder), and he was done looking in his room. One thing he wanted to do was watch the DVD Maizono got, see what was in that video. Another thing was to find out where the murder weapon came from. Also, he wanted to check out that trash room Owada had talked about. Lastly, he wanted to see what everyone else thought.

 _ If they'll even talk to me, that is..., _ he thought, leaving his room.

First things first, Maizono's room.

He was distracted from his task the moment he saw Kuwata hanging out in the hall, looking between the door Dean just came out of and Maizono's room. The baseball star had a confused look on his face, eyes bouncing between both doors.

_“Something doesn't seem right,”_ he stated after noticing Dean. _ “The Monokuma file said Maizono was killed in your room. I just can't stop thinking about it. Could it be...the nameplate?” _

Confused, Dean turned around and saw Naegi's nameplate on Maizono's door, but that stopped him in his tracks.

 _ This **is** Maizono's room, right? But the nameplate has my name on it, _ he wondered. Then he looked over at his door and saw Maizono's nameplate on it.  _“The nameplates on my room and Maizono's room were switched!?”_ Dean felt his shoulders sag. All that effort he'd put into switching rooms without anyone knowing had been totally pointless. _ But, why would anyone do that? _

_** “Dorm Nameplates” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. ** _

Dean grabbed the doorknob to Maizono's room and opened it, entering the room and walking toward the trash can. There could've been only one thing in there, and he was right.

_ The DVD with Maizono's name on it. _

_“Maizono got really upset after seeing whatever was in that video.”_ It made him wonder what exactly she saw. There was a possibility it was related to the case, but the possibility also existed that it wasn't. Yet it was worth checking out anyway. _ “I'm sorry, Maizono. I need to borrow this DVD.” _

**/-deadly life-/**

Next area to check out was the trash room. It just looked like a normal trash room, but there was a hatch on the floor right in front of a sturdy gate. There was an incinerator in the back of the room. It looked like a good thirty feet from the gate to the incinerator. He tried to open the hatch, but the door wouldn't budge. He walked up to the gate and wrapped his fingers around it. It didn't look like there was any way to get through it, making it seem like a pointless room, but then _he_ showed up.

_“It's the end of the line,”_ Monokuma stated. _ “The trash room... This is where all the trash in the school eventually winds up.” _

_“How do you get this gate open?”_ Dean asked the bear.

Monokuma shook his head. _“No no no! No entry beyond this point! Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!”_

_ “Who's on cleaning duty?” _

Monokuma shook his head for the second time. _“No no no! No entry beyond this point! Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!”_

Dean rolled his eyes, deciding it would be faster to just go around and ask the others.

Monokuma shook his head. _“No no no! No entry beyond this point! Only the person on cleaning duty is allowed in!”_

_** “Cleaning Duty” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. ** _

**/-deadly life-/**

After a bit of asking around (and asking Fujisaki about the numbers, which didn't mean anything), Dean learned that Yamada was the one that was on cleaning duty.

(Of course, Dean had also, unfortunately, learned that Yamada had a love for 2D characters and PVC figures.)

Now, the two boys were in the trash room. Yamada's chubby pointer finger and thumb of his other hand were on his glasses.

_“You'd like me to open the gate, wouldn't you?”_ he asked, letting go of his glasses and pointing up at the ceiling as he let out a _ “Bwehehe” _ before continuing to speak.  _“You know, when I look at it, it makes me think. They said he killed his wife. He learned how to get by on the inside, but he never stopped dreaming. Get busy livin' or get busy dyin', he said. So him and Rita, they found themselves a way out...”_

Dean rolled his eyes. _“Whatever, please just hurry up!”_

Yamada pumped his fist in the air. _“Okie dokie! Leave it to me!”_ He pulled a key out of his pocket and used it to flip the switch next to the gate. The two walked over to the incinerator. _“However, Mr. Naegi...”_ Yamada glared at him and pointed a chubby finger his way. _“Surely you aren't planning to use the trash room to destroy evidence, are you!? Y-You fiend! You planned this all along!”_

Dean shook his head. _“N-No! I just wanted to see if the actual killer had tried to destroy any evidence or not!”_

 _“But the 'actual killer' is YOU, isn't it!? You want to see if you left anything behind!”_ Sweat started to pour down Yamada's face. _“Wait, maybe, a parallel world...?”_

Dean ignored him and looked around the room. The first thing that caught his eye was the incinerator. He walked over to it, and he had to back away.

_It was on right now!_

_“Do you see the green and yellow buttons next to the mouth of the incinerator?”_ Yamada questioned, pointing at the buttons. _ “It's a pretty simple setup. You press the green button to get it going, and the yellow button to turn it off. Sooner or later you'll be on cleaning duty, so make sure you learn this before you leave, okaaaAAAYYY!?!?” _ That was when he saw that the incinerator was on, and his hands flew to his face while taking a step back.  _“Huh!? Someone turned the incinerator on! Very strange... I'm quite certain it was off last time I was down here. Perhaps it was the work of a fairy...”_

That was when Dean caught it. _ “Yamada! Do you realize what you just said!?” _

_ “Huh? The fairy?” _

_ “...No. You said the last time you were here, the incinerator was off.” _

Yamada put his hands on his hips, a proud look on his face. _“Ah, yes. About that there can be no mistake. If I've got one thing going for me, it's my memory! Yesterday, as soon as I was appointed, I came down to check the place out. It definitely wasn't on then. I haven't been back to the trash room since then. And since I'm the only one who has a key to open the gate...”_ He trailed off for a second, deflating as sweat poured down his face, _“...it should be impossible for the incinerator to be on. And yet...”_

 _ That means someone was able to switch on the incinerator without opening the gate, _ he realized.  _But, how is that..._ He stopped his train of thought, eyes widening. It couldn't be.... _could it?_ He needed more clues to be sure.

_ **“Incinerator” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook.** _

He looked around the incinerator and saw a burnt piece of an object on the floor.

_“There's something on the ground in front of the incinerator,”_ Dean pointed out. _ “It looks like a burnt piece of...something.” _

_“A burnt piece...? Like a hunk? Like a hunk of burning love!?”_ Yamada asked, earning an unamused look from Dean.

Dean knelt down. It looked like a piece of cloth. Picking it up, he realized it was from the bottom part of the sleeve from a button-up shirt. There was even blood on the cuff. His eyes widened. _ “This is all that's left of some of the evidence the killer destroyed...” _

However, Dean's shoulders sagged the moment he realized that there were lots of people trapped in the school that wore white button-up shirts. _This isn't enough by itself to figure out who the killer is,_ he thought sadly.

_** “Burnt Shirt Piece” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. ** _

Shards of broken glass were scattered around in front of the incinerator. It looked like it used to be some kind of glass ball, just about big enough to fit in the palm of his hand.

 _ “Ngyah!” _ Yamada cried out. _ “Is that...?” _

_ “Do you know what this is?” _

_“They say if you collect all seven a dragon will appear and grant you a single wish!”_ After getting a second unamused look from Dean _(Really? You think this is one of the Dragon Balls?),_ Yamada grinned. _ “Erm, kidding aside, it's the kind of thing you might see on a big-city street corner. Gaze into it, and it will show you a glimpse of the future. Just like that Meena girl who was on that quest to find that one guy!” _

Despite not understanding his third reference, Dean understood what he was trying to say. And he knew just who to ask to find out if this particular ball belonged to them or not.

_** “Shattered Crystal Ball” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. ** _

_“This whole thing is quite strange, indeed,”_ Yamada stated. _ “When I was here last, the incinerator was off, and those glass shards and burnt clothes weren't.” _ The fanfic creator's eyes narrowed as he pointed an accusing finger at Dean.  _“What does it all mean, Mr. Naegi!? Will you be confessing soon!?”_

_ “Why me...?” _

_ “Everyone already knows you did it! All the mysteries are being solved one by one!” _

Dean almost rolled his eyes. It really sounded like he was living out one of his comic book fantasies.

**/-deadly life-/**

The dining hall looked normal, almost welcoming. Asahina was there, standing next to the table they used for the breakfast meetings.

_“Asahina...are you investigating the dining hall?”_ Dean inquired.

The swimmer shook her head. _“Oh, no,”_ she replied. _“I'm just taking a break. Actually, I've been taking a break since we started.”_ She had a sheepish smile on her face. _“This is all a first for me, ya know? I don't have the first clue what I should be doing.”_

_ “I know what you mean...” _

Asahina rubbed the back of her head, right below her ponytail. _“And I dunno why, but being in the dining hall helps keep me calm. So I know I shouldn't, but I've just been kinda...hanging around here. To tell the truth...I was doing the same thing last night, when Maizono was killed.”_

That caught his attention, but he had to put that on the back burner as he entered the kitchen. There were various fruits and meats, but the items hanging on the back wall caught his attention. It was a set of six knives, but there were only five. It confirmed his suspicion that the knife that was used to kill Maizono did, in fact, come from the kitchen.

**_ “Kitchen Knife Set” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. _ **

It was time to talk to Asahina.

_“Hey, so...did you notice that one of the kitchen knives is missing from the dining hall?”_ Dean asked now that he was back in the dining hall.

Asahina crossed her arms over her chest. _ “Yeah, weird huh? I thought it was kinda strange, a knife just suddenly disappearing like that,” she said. _

_ “Oh, so it wasn't missing from the beginning?” _

_ “Nope. Last I remember, they were all lined up in a nice, neat row.” _

_ “So when did you notice one of them had disappeared?” _

_ “Well, I went to go get some tea from the kitchen last night, and all the knives were still there. But when I finished my tea and went back into the kitchen to wash my glass, one of the knives was gone.” _

_ “So you're saying the knife disappeared while you were drinking your tea in the dining hall?” _

_ “Yeah...” _

Dean almost cheered. Asahina was in the dining hall when someone came in and took the knife. Asahina could tell everyone he hadn't entered the dining hall the night before. _Which proves I didn't take it!_ Dean thought to himself.

**_ “Asahina's Account” has been added to the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. _ **

_“Hey, by the way... Did you really kill Maizono?”_ Asahina looked worried.

_“Wh-What!? Of course not! I would never!”_

Asahina was silent as she stared at Dean.

_ “Asahina... do you really think I murdered her?” _

_“Well...,”_ she began, nervously tapping her pointer fingers together, _ “she was killed in your room, right? So I mean... You guys were supposed to be friends, right? But you still...killed her. On the other hand, two people becoming good friends, then one killing the other is a classic drama setup. So when you consider everything together...” _ She frowned, looking down at the floor. She looked...sad.  _“...I honestly have no idea.”_

Dean said nothing.

**/-deadly life-/**

She was still there, the spears in her body. A reminder of what would happen if someone attacked Monokuma.

A _harsh_ reminder.

Dean's hand was in his jacket pocket, fingers brushing the pieces of paper Aline had given him.

However, he was back in the gym to talk to Hagakure. It looked like what had happened had finally hit him.

_“Hey Hagakure, can I ask you something?”_ Dean asked.

The older man, however, was muttering to himself. _ “Aggh!  _ _ No no no no no! I gotta get outta here! Gotta get out now! I've had enough! Gotta break free!”  _

Dean almost wanted to slap him to snap him out of it, but Naegi had something else in mind. _ “Hagakure, snap out of it!”  _

It apparently worked. _ “Ghh... Hrm? Huh? Naegi, what are you doing here? What...?”  _

Dean pulled out his e-handbook and pulled up the picture of the shattered crystal ball. _ “Hey, um, does this look familiar?”  _

The clairvoyant's eyes widened, clearly shocked at the sight of it. _ “Ahhh! That's my crystal ball! But it's all smashed! What the hell...?”  _ His face paled. _ “I-I only bought it cuz the guy said it was blessed! He said it was unbreakable! So how did it break? Was it actually made of glass!? And not crystal!? Did that guy totally dupe me!? He said it belonged to the pillars of history... Genghis Khan, George Washington, Napoleon... He said whoever controlled that crystal ball controlled the world! Was that seriously all BS!?”  _ To say that he was close to freaking out was a complete understatement.

_ “U-Umm...let's put that aside for now. So you can say without a doubt that this belonged to you?” _

_“ _Yeah, that's mine for sure. I prolly forgot it in the laundry room last night. Someone musta come_ by and snatched it.”_

If he left it in the laundry room, that meant anyone could've found it and taken it.

_** “Shattered Crystal Ball” has been updated in the Truth Bullets section of your handbook. ** _

_ “Thanks, Hagakure. That's all I wanted to know.” _

_ “S-Sure...” _

_ “...Um, by the way, I'm almost afraid to ask, but how much did you pay for that thing?” _

_ “Everything I saved up from fortune-telling for two full years. Came out to be like...a million.” _

Dean took a step back. _ “A m-million!?”  _

_ “That's pretty cheap, actually. I mean, considering it gives you the power to control the world...” _

It was just too...too stupid. Dean couldn't even feel bad for him.

**/-deadly life-/**

He was staring at a familiar looking door, Maizono's DVD in his hand. For some reason, he felt guilty about needing to watch the DVD. Despite the fact that she was dead, the DVD was still Maizono's.

Yet...he _had_ to watch it. He _had_ to know if it was part of the case or not.

That was why he opened the door to the AV room and sat at the first computer he saw, putting the DVD in the player and pressing play.

The screen was dark for a few seconds. But then...

...an image slowly appeared. It looked like some kind of concert. And standing onstage was a face he recognized all too well.

_“ _M_ aizono...,”_ he whispered.

The blue-haired idol was there, along with the friends she'd said had been so important to her. She was positively _glowing_ there in front of the crowd. So full of life...

Seeing that image made it even hard to accept that she was dead. Dean's vision began to blur and darken, and then...

_...that voice he'd come to despise so much began to float out of the speakers._

[ _**“** **_M_ aizono Sayaka, the Ultimate Pop Sensation—lead singer of a world-famous all-girl pop band,”** _ Monokuma stated. **_ “For these girls, the glowing spotlight only made them that much more beautiful. But then...” _ ** ](https://clyp.it/xbgsgaxu)

Suddenly, the screen went dark. And in the next moment he saw something he could hardly believe. Then again, he'd seen something like this on Naegi's motive video. But...

_ “What the—!?” _

Maizono had disappeared from the stage, which was now in ruins. But what he noticed even more than that was the figures of the other girls, who had all simply... _collapsed._ Monokuma's face dominated the rear screen which, before, had featured the five singing girls.

[ _**“** _ **_**T** his ultra-successful team suddenly fell apart! None of them will ever perform on stage again. None of them will ever feel the warmth of the spotlight. For Maizono, there's simply nowhere for her to return to. So here's the billion-dollar question—what of what could have caused the group to go to pieces!?”_ ** ](https://clyp.it/pmk3zqnp)

The image faded and familiar words appeared on the screen:

_ **Look for the answer  
after graduation!** _

Then, without warning, the video cut off.

_“Wh-What the hell?”_

He found himself doubting whether what he'd seen was real or not. _They're a famous pop group._ _Everyone knows who they are. Is he trying to say he was even able to get to them?_ he wondered. If that was the case, everyone in the outside world had to be going crazy.

_“What kind of person would take things this far!?”_

_**Ding dong, bing bong.** _

The familiar chime echoed in the otherwise empty room, and Monokuma's face appeared on the monitor, holding his champagne glass.

[ _“Erm,”_ Monokuma began, _ “so ah...I'm getting tired of waiting. What say we just get started, hm? It's time for the long-awaited Class Trial! Now then, allow me to appoint a proper location for the proceedings. Please go through the red door on the first floor of the school! Upupupu. See you soon!” _ ](https://clyp.it/ggp4fjix)

The monitor shut off, the heavy silence returning.

_“The red door on the first floor... That's where I should go. No, where I **have** to go.”_

**/-deadly life-/**

Everyone was already in the room.

Ishimaru, Owada, Fujisaki, Sam, Hagakure, Ogami, Asahina, Fukawa, Kuwata, Togami, and Yamada.

Behind them was an elevator. To the right of the elevator was another monitor.

_“You're late, Naegi!”_ Ishimaru yelled, eyes narrowed in a glare. _ “We've all been waiting for you!” _

_“Hmph,”_ Fukawa scoffed, a sly smirk on her face. _ “I bet y-you were afraid you would be discovered as th-the murderer you are...” _

_“Let's not jump to conclusions just yet! Save that for the class trial! There we can all reveal the details of Naegi's crime!”_

So, everyone (but Sam) was convinced he killed Maizono, but he _knew_ he didn't do it. He and Maizono both knew that all too well. But...who did it?

 _ The one who murdered Maizono... Is it really one of us? _ Dean thought (it was something Naegi was wondering). However, the monitor flickering on, catching everyone's attention.

_“Upupupu,”_ Monokuma laughed. _ “Is everyone here? Okay then... Please board the elevator in front of you, which will transport you to the courtroom...where all your fates will be decided. Upu. I'll meet you all down there. I'll be waiting...” _

The monitor turned off, leaving Dean no choice but to get on the elevator.

_“Let us begin,”_ Ogami said before getting on.

 _ “Good idea,” _ Celestia agreed before following.

Dean was silent as he watched everyone enter the elevator, except for himself and Sam.

 _ “Are you scared?” _ Sam inquired.

The older Winchester shook his head. _“N-No, scared isn't quite right...,”_ he replied.

 _“I said it before, but it's up to you to uncover the mysteries surrounding this case yourself.”_ Sam turned around. _“If you don't, you'll never come to grips with the truth.”_ With that, she got on.

Dean knew he didn't need someone else to tell him to uncover the truth behind Maizono's death.

_“In Maizono's honor, I swear I'll find out who the killer is!”_ As he raised his voice to try and give himself courage, he turned, trembling with anticipation, toward the elevator. With each step forward, he could feel his heart starting to race faster and faster. Everyone else was already on the elevator. When he finally stepped on, the doors closed, and the elevator started to move.

The steel box descended with heavy clunking sounds toward the school's basement.

_“I wonder if this is how a death row inmate feels when his time finally comes,”_ he asked.

 _ “Rather than that,” _ Celestia answered, _ “is it not more like a defendant waiting to receive his judgement?” _

After that, no other words were said, anxiety shared between everyone. The elevator lowered the group of thirteen further and further into the bowels of the school.

The door slid open to reveal a blue-walled room with a black-and-white checkerboard floor. There, on a raised platform in the middle of the room, was sixteen seats arranged in a giant circle. Monokuma was standing in front of a throne on a second platform close to the sixteen seats.

 _Wait... Sixteen?_ he wondered, feeling confused. _There was only fifteen of us in the beginning._

 _ “Nyohoho! You've finally arrived!” _ Monokuma stated with a laugh. _ “What do you think? Doesn't it feel just like a real courtroom? It's like a Hollywood movie set, right!?” _

Owada glared at the black-and-white bear. _“Not even close,”_ he growled out. _“It's total shit.”_

Monokuma stopped laughing. _“Okay, okay, everyone find your assigned seats and sit down!”_ He began to laugh again. _“Hurry up now, hurry up!”_

_ _

Everyone did as he said and found their seats. Two pictures slowly rose up from the floor, one between Dean and Ishimaru and the other between Ishimaru and Ogami.

Dean looked beside him and found himself looking at Maizono Sayaka, except (like her picture in the Monokuma File) there was a bloody pink “X” over it. He almost froze when he looked over at the picture standing between Ishimaru and Ogami.

_It was Aline._

Like Maizono's picture, Aline's had a bloody pink “X” over it. In order to distract himself, he looked at how the seats were arranged.

They were clearly set up so that everyone could see everyone else. Which also meant it'd be easy for anyone to transfer their tension and unease onto anyone else. The air seemed to grow heavy as they sat there.

And so, the curtain on their first case opened.

A deadly judgment... A deadly deception... A deadly betrayal...

A deadly riddle, a deadly defense, a deadly faith...

_ A deadly...Class Trial! _

**//**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ## Notes
> 
> \- **“Upupupu”** is Monokuma's Japanese laugh. I like it better than his English one, okay?  
>  \- To differentiate between Kirigiri & Sam:  
> \- when Kirigiri is the one speaking, I use _she._  
>  \- when Sam is the one speaking, I use _he._
> 
> ## Cast List
> 
> * Dean Winchester as Naegi Makoto (primary POV for this fic)  
> 
> * Aline Peverell as Enoshima Junko/???  
> 
> * Sam Winchester as Kirigiri Kyoko
> 
> ## Voice References
> 
> (in order of appearance)   
> 
> 
> * **Bryce Papenbrook** as Naegi Makoto/Dean Winchester  
> 
> *  **Kaiji Tang** as Hagakure Yasuhiro  
> 
> *  **Lucien Dodge** as Yamada Hifumi  
> 
> *  **Sean Chiplock** as Ishimaru Kiyotaka  
> 
> *  **Jamie Marchi** as Enoshima Junko/Aline Peverell  
> 
> *  **Dorothy Elias-Fahn** as Fujisaki Chihiro  
> 
> *  **Marieve Herington** as Celestia Ludenberg  
> 
> *  **Keith Silverstein** as Owada Mondo  
> 
> *  **Grant George** as Kuwata Leon  
> 
> *  **Cassandra Lee Morris** as Asahina Aoi  
> 
> *  **Jessica Gee-George** as Oogami Sakura  
> 
> *  **Amanda Celine Miller** as Fukawa Toko  
> 
> *  **Jason Wishnov** as Togami Byakuya  
> 
> *  **Erika Harlacher** as Kirigiri Kyoko/Sam Winchester  
> 
> *  **Monica Rial** as Maizono Sayaka  
> 
> *  **Brian Beacock** as Monokuma  
>  ** _Names will be added/taken down as the story progresses._**
> 
> * Next is the Class Trial! See you then! Upupupu!!


	4. A/N: ...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...I'm sorry...

I keep thinking about doing a complete reboot of my blog. Maybe do a little clean up or something, I’m not sure yet.

And…a few other things that I’m _**really** _ reluctant to do because I don’t wanna do this right in the middle of everything. Of course, I’d change a whole lot of this blog, drop a few things, redo that, the whole shebang.

I was almost tempted to delete all three of my blogs and rebuild from the ground up…

…but I _**can’t bring myself to do that.**_

I’m getting all teary eyed just thinking of what I’m gonna do. And it’s nothing TOO drastic, I swear! It won’t mean I’m going away or anything. Just…cleaning stuff up. It’s something I feel like I should’ve done a while ago, but…

…

##  _**I’m putting my all of my stories and characters (with the exception of my Fire Emblem avatars) up for adoption. And deleting all of my writing accounts.** _

Well, I can’t exactly delete my writing blog without deleting this blog (Thanks for that, Tumblr. REALLY helps me out with what I wanna do here). 

The stories that I have up for adoption are:

> The Sun Rise Trilogy (Supernatural/Okami); drabbles included
> 
> Kibou to Zetsubou (Supernatural/Danganronpa)
> 
> The Greatest Trick (Supernatural/The Usual Suspects fusion)
> 
> The Black Gym Bag series (Supernatural/Saw)
> 
> Katara’s Memoirs (ATLA)
> 
> Voldemort’s Ghosts (Harry Potter)
> 
> Yellow Devil (Power Rangers: Dino Thunder)

If you adopt these fics, feel free to make them your own & take out Aline if you wish to. I didn’t include any fics that I was planning on eventually posting because I’m keeping those to myself and deleting them.

My OCs that are up for adoption are:

> Aline Peverell (Supernatural; former half-demon turned angel by Alternate Michael. Current face claim is Kate McGrath & voice claim is Laura Bailey. With her, you also get all the main series stories I wrote with her. Those being _DeanGirl2Y5′s Seasons of Supernatural._ )
> 
> Sato Emi (Danganronpa; the Ultimate Cover Singer. Current real life face claim is Katherine McNamara. Anime FC is Luculia Marlborough from Violet Evergarden. Voice claims are Erica Lindbeck for her English voice & Sora Amamiya for her Japanese voice.)
> 
> Celica Elwyn (South Park; based on my avatar from Fractured Butt Whole. Real life FC is Maisie Williams, and her VC is Danielle Judovits.)
> 
> Sonia Babiole (Undertale; half-human half-cat monster that lives with Sans & Papyrus in Snowdin. Real life FC is Felicity Jones, and her VC is Cherami Leigh) & all her incarnations ([click here for details](https://willintowait.tumblr.com/post/170278269720/sonia-headcanon-1))
> 
> Seras Victoria Ride (WWE; Reference is Maryse)
> 
> Hinata (WWE; Reference is Christy Hemme)
> 
> Draco Ride (WWE; Reference is The Miz)
> 
> Azrael Victoria (WWE; Reference is Brie Bella. You also get _Azrael’s Road to WrestleMania 27_. I’ll give you the first chapter of the rewrite.)
> 
> Elena Fay (WWE; Reference is Summer Rae/Kelly Kelly)
> 
> Nikita David (WWE; Reference is Eve with red hair)
> 
> Amy K (WWE; Reference is Maria Kanellis)
> 
> Alanna Lovato/Lissa Harkness (WWE & TNA; Reference is AJ Lee/Nikki Bella)

I will say this: the last fic I will post is the Hope Arc for the “i am the mastermind (underline mastermind)” series called “i’ve been broke (i’ll rise again)” before I delete the rest of my stories off my computer and flash drives.

 _ **The last day I will be accepting adoption requests will be May 31, 2019.**_ After that, any stories & characters that **_have not_** been adopted will be permanently deleted and my fanfiction accounts (Wattpad, AO3, Quotev, & Fanfiction) will be gone. The only accounts I _**won’t**_ be deleting are [oldfashioncdvillain](http://oldfashioncdvillain.tumblr.com/) & my deviantART account. My writing blog will be archived, along with [willintowait](http://willintowait.tumblr.com/).

Message me if you wish to adopt any of these stories & characters. It’s first come first serve. Post will be updated as characters & stories are adopted.


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